3 Tips For Dealing With Employees That Request A Lot Of Time Off

If you have an employee or two that always seem to be asking for time off, you might be wondering what you can do to help them spend more time at work without causing a lot of drama. Luckily, there are a few things that you can try when you feel that time off requests have become excessive. 

To help you learn just what these things are, here are three tips for dealing with employees that request a lot of time off. 

State Your Expectations

One of the first things that you should do when dealing with employees who are taking a lot of time off is to clearly state your expectations to them about how often you expect them to be at work and what the process is for requesting time off work. Sometimes, things like this can slip through the cracks, which can cause people to operate in a way that’s against what you’d like without even knowing it. 

To do this, first share with them that you rely on them being at work when they are scheduled to be at work. While it’s fine to take some time off, trying to take time off multiple times a month likely isn’t allowing your business to function how it needs to. Explain that if there are issues they’re facing, like having to care for an elderly loved one or medical issues, that you’d like to be as flexible as you can. But make sure you’re clear that the expectation is that they will reliably be at work when scheduled. 

Consider Allowing For Shift Trades

Something that can be a possibility for some jobs is to allow for employees to switch shifts with other employees rather than just taking time off and needing someone to fill in for them.

While this can get complicated if you’re needing certain staff to be supervising or have to stay within a certain number of hours for other employees, this could be a way to allow your employees to take the time off that they are wanting or needing without affecting your business too much. 

Give A Reward To Employees Who Don’t Take Excessive Time Off

While it’s important to have staff that feels like they can take time off when necessary, it could also be smart to give some kind of reward for employees who don’t take excessive time off. 

Some options for this reward could include things like giving them a bonus, paying out the time off that they didn’t take, giving them an extra day off somewhere, or putting them on the fast-track toward getting a raise. 

If you’re having a hard time with employees wanting to take too much time off of work, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how to handle this.