“Boomer Managers Could Never”: Gen Z Boss Explains Why She Rejects PTO Requests

Taking some time off work every once in a while is necessary to prevent burnout, minimize stress levels, and get some well-deserved rest. Sometimes even one day off can work wonders for an employee’s well-being.

However, certain reasons for requesting time off might not fly in some workplaces. A Gen Z manager, Elizabeth Beggs, known to her online audience as ‘bunchesofbeggs,’ recently went viral on TikTok after sharing why she has denied some employees’ time off requests. If you want to see her reasoning, scroll down to find Elizabeth’s video below.

The reasons for wanting or needing some time off work are ample; just ask anyone who has been working non-stop for quite some time now. That’s why for many, paid leave policies are a true blessing, allowing employed individuals to take some much-needed time off without having to worry about their job or their income.

If you’re curious who has it best when it comes to annual leave, people in the UK seem to be the luckiest. According to the data, provided by the World Economic Forum, they get 28 days of annual leave and have nine public holidays they can make use of. Next on the list are France (with 25 days of annual leave and 11 public holidays), Spain (22 and 14 days respectively), and Germany (20 and 13, the latter number depending on specific state). Last on the list, with zero days of annual leave and 10 public holidays, is the US, where the amount of paid time off one gets is a matter of agreement between the employer and employee.

Delving deeper into the situation in the US, Clockify noted that last year, nearly 90% of full-time employees had access to paid vacation. (Though, nearly 70% of employed individuals admit to working even during their time off.) Civilian and private industry employees, for example, get an average of 11 vacation days after 1 year of service. According to the aforementioned source, 62% of people think having paid time off is extremely important.

Bearing in mind how stressful some people’s jobs are, it’s no wonder that most of them consider paid time off to be extremely important. The American Institute of Stress reports that for nearly half of employed individuals, the majority of the stress they experience in life comes from work. To make matters worse, as much as 77% of them say that stress has negatively affected their health or mental health, and 71% even saw their relationships suffer because of it.

Even if taking some time off work does not eradicate all the stress that has built up at work, it can minimize it, as well as help combat burnout. According to Harvard Business Review, vacation time can have a positive effect on not only one’s mind, but soul and body, too, as time off allows an employee to catch up on sleep, manage the levels of stress hormones in their body, and focus on themselves.

Needless to say, the scenarios Elizabeth spoke about in her video do not sound stress-free, nor do they entail a lot of free time for sleeping or resting. That is why the woman didn’t think they should be counted as paid time off. Understanding that unexpected situations in life are inevitable, the Gen Z manager showed empathy and understanding, and encouraged employees to take care of themselves and their families first. Fellow netizens applauded her style of management.