Woman Shares A ‘Hack’ To Have A 10-Day Holiday Around Christmas This Year, Another TikToker Warns Workers Not To Do It
American workers have long been notorious for shortening, postponing, or canceling their paid time off (PTO). But as the summer-getaway season draws to a close, this seems to be a thing of the past: the US is becoming a better vacation nation. According to a recent survey by Allianz Partners USA, workers are vacationing in numbers unseen in years. Nearly 60% of respondents revealed they took at least a week off in the past year — more than in any year since 2009 when the insurer began conducting the survey.
As people finally take opportunities to unwind from their daily tasks, one question pops into many minds: when is the best time to leave the office? Well, this very topic is at the heart of a heated debate that recently swept through TikTok.
It all started when TikToker Chelsea posted a video where she urges workers to schedule their PTO for the holidays, claiming that people can snag a 10-day vacation for just four days of PTO. Immediately, the platform erupted with reactions ranging from kudos to appreciation to rejection. It didn’t take long for another content creator, Dillon, to criticize her advice and warn workers against it. Scroll down to read what they had to say about the topic, and be sure to weigh in on the discussion in the comments.
TikToker Chelsea recently went viral for suggesting workers schedule PTO between the holidays
She claimed that by taking only four days of PTO, workers can have a 10-day vacation
Image credits: chelseazeferina
Watch the video, which got more than 5.2 million views, right here
@chelseazeferina work smarter not harder #pto #corporatelife #corporatetiktok #corporatehacks #traveltiktok ♬ original sound – CHELSEA 🍓✨☀️
After watching Chelsea’s video, people wasted no time in sharing their opinions on the matter. Some TikTokers appreciated her approach to leverage federal holidays in combination with PTO, especially if there’s an increased workload during that time at their organization. However, others suggested that taking a break between holidays is a waste, as this is when many workers feel the festive spirit and do the absolute minimum to get through the work days.
The topic sparked a heated debate between TikTokers as many people have different preferences on how to spend their precious time off. After all, even when the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that more than 70 percent of employees have at least one form of paid time off, people usually schedule it cautiously. In 2021, over one–third of private industry workers received only 10 to 14 days of paid vacation after one year of service, far less than in most advanced economies.
According to a 2022 infographic by Namely, people tend to take the longest vacations in summer. But when it comes to requesting time off the most, it happens during the most wonderful time of the year — the holidays — with December being far the most popular month for workers to take PTO.
Later on, TikToker Dillon responded to this clip and warned employees against her advice
Image credits: ragazzirobusti
You can watch the full video right here
@ragazzirobusti #stitch with @CHELSEA 🍓✨☀️ // Do not do this. This is terrible advise. Do not take HR’s suggestions for when you should take PTO. They will tell you to take PTO between the holidays while your coworkers clock in, do nothing and hold onto their PTO. 🚨🚨 THIS IS ADVISE THAT HELPS THE COMPANY AND THE COMPANY ONLY — NOT YOU, THE EMPLOYEE, YOUR TIME OFF, YOUR HOLIDAYS WITH YOUR FAMILY, YOUR MENTAL HEALTH, YOUR WALLET OR YOUR PTO.🚨🚨 Also, weekends and federal holidays aren’t “vacation” days, Chelsea, they’re rights given to the workers of the world, so it’s actually a five day “vacation” youve outlined where no one’s doing anything anyway. 💋💋 #workersrights #worklife #corporate #HR #PTO #employeesoftiktok ♬ original sound – dillon.
When TikToker Dillon shared a different point of view with the platform last week, many users also stepped in to agree that applying for leave when there’s a dip in productivity lacks logic. The creator reiterated his insights in the caption and said people should be cautious about suggestions when it is best to take PTO.
“[HR] will tell you to take PTO between the holidays while your coworkers clock in, do nothing and hold onto their PTO,” he wrote. “This is advice that helps the company and the company only — not you, the employee, your time off, your holidays with your family, your mental health, your wallet or your PTO.”
In response, Chelsea commented on his video, stating it all comes down to personal preference. She usually prefers to take that week as vacation and spend time with loved ones, rather than “sit in an office with nothing to do”.
While the internet is divided on this matter, everyone can agree that no matter the time of the year workers schedule their PTO, taking a well-deserved break is crucial for our physical and emotional well-being. As Selena Rezvani, a leadership expert, speaker, and author of Pushback: How Smart Women Ask — and Stand Up — for What They Want, told Bored Panda in an earlier interview, the hustle culture is real. “Research shows North Americans are the most stressed-out workers in the world. If you think about it, it’s hard to be results-obsessed and NOT get burned out.”
Later on, Chelsea responded to Dillon via comment
Image credits: ragazzirobusti
So he made a follow-up video sharing his insights on the topic
@ragazzirobusti Replying to @CHELSEA 🍓✨☀️ ♬ original sound – dillon.
Moreover, employees may feel hesitant to leave their projects and lose their boss’ or co-workers’ respect, something that prevents them from going on vacation. According to Rezvani, PTO guilt is a real issue in the corporate world.
“Employers need to stop vacation-shaming and incentivizing people to have ‘perfect attendance’,” she told us. “People can and should be able to judge for themselves when they need time off (and of course to make an effort to help operations run smoothly while they’re gone).”
When it comes to the best ways to use your paid time off, the expert suggested extending your break when the company is closed, taking your birthday off each year, or taking a day here or there for joy, self-investment, socializing or alone time.
“If you personally have little PTO to work with, say one week, you can use the piggyback technique of tacking on one additional day off to an already short week say, a federal holiday. That gives you a longer period off and a shorter workweek to look forward to,” Rezvani said.
At the end of the day, everyone is in a different situation at home and at work, so it’s important to determine what works best for you. What do you think of the videos TikTokers shared on the platform? Which side are you on? Let us know where you stand on the matter in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.
The discussion split TikTok — some agreed that the dip in productivity around the holidays is enough of a break and sided with Dillon
Others sided with Chelsea, saying that using PTO during the holiday season is a good idea
Yeah... not everyone has the same job or same types of jobs. Each person's situation is different. So yeah, take off when you want, but I do agree with his point that HR is there to protect the business, not the employee.
Load More Replies... BP - Respectfully, please stop posting tiktok content. The site is dangerous and the content is often low-quality.
So true... this article is just two nobodies bickering. Take your darn PTO when you can and want. Everyone has different rules in each company, and I bet, if you have some slight common sense you can check your calendar and see when the holidays are and plan accordingly.
Load More Replies...
BoredPanda, are you starved for content anymore? There are so many fascinating artists out there for your writers to discover and neat books and shows to cover YET you continue to post TikTok, Influencer content, Am I the A*****e, and celebrity content. What's happening to the BoredPanda many of us used to love?
In France it is a common practice, if there is a public holiday for example on Thursday, people rush to ask for Friday to have a long weekend, we call it a bridge. If the public holiday falls on a Wednesday, you ask for Thursday and Friday. It's called an aqueduct. In short, it is almost a national sport to "plug" the gaps between public holidays, or to wedge vacation days when these public holidays fall because they are not counted as rest days that one takes, but these are mandatory rest days (everything depends of course on your profession, your on-call duties and the days of rest you have left). The month of May is known for this because there are many public holidays during this month.
This is not a new hack thing that this woman just figured out. People have been doing this since statutory holidays started. The time between Christmas and new year is a slow time at many companies. Some people prefer to take that time off because they often don’t have childcare or they have a big family Christmas or they travel. Other people prefer the quiet time to get caught up. I had one guy who was Jewish and he always covered for everyone else in the office so they could be off in exchange for getting thanksgiving off. But spare a thought for the people who have no choice because the holidays are their busiest times.
I respectfully disagree. I'd still be rather home with my family, they are worth those 4 days way more than keeping the PTO
Pretty standard practice in the UK around Christmas and Easter bank holidays. Many office-based companies even close down entirely between Xmas and New Year. Play the game well and you could get around 40 actual days off work each year for the "price" of your 28 statutory leave days. I personally like two weeks at Christmas, two at Easter and two in early September (when the schools have gone back and everything is quieter).
DUH. Not a hack, common sense to group PTO around company paid holidays and weekends. I take almost all my PTO that way.
I don't understand either the "great discovery" of the OP nor the response of the tiktokker. I don't ski, but many people do and if they want to take a ski vacation at Christmas, then the strategy from the OP (which is not like she invented Cold Fusion or anything) is sound. Maybe you want to spend time with family. That's OK too. I can appreciate showing up to work in an empty office. Some may see that as getting paid to watch youtube. That's OK too. But everyone is different. What works for the TikTok guy may not work for me (I work from home) and vice versa. I am sure some people don't like to be at work in an empty office or at a time they are unable to do significant work.
I do this every year. There's 2 stat holidays on the 24, 25 and 26th (well, my work takes Boxing Day off), and the 31st and 1st as a stat. So.... Why not?! Mind you, I'm also changing jobs soon, so I'll likely be expected to work around Christmas and won't be taking any time off until next fall. But in my current line of work it's a pain to work during the holidays and the people we interact with usually don't appreciate it, obviously, and I don't disagree with them.
I do this every holiday season and over the 4th. I always use my pto with paid holidays.
I just hate how smug these people look and say things like "I'm going to need you to listen up". Mate this isn't anything groundbreaking or unknown, everyone knows if certain days fall on certain days it works in your favour at work.
It depends on your job. If you're slaving over at a low wage and could use a breather at a more hectic time, then save the days for a better occasion. But if your work is such that it can pile up while your coworker tries to fill in for you, then don't sit there on a slow moment wasting your time. Also depends on how you are at work. If you detest being bored and wasting hours, take the in between days off. If you're overworked and the work can't pile up, go to work to relax on those days
People do this where I work all the time (you just have to be lucky enough, and senior enough, to get your request on before all the "slots" are full). Use your vacation days when you want to.
I'm fortunate that the company I work for shuts down on Christmas Eve and doesn't reopen until the first Monday after 1st Jan. Love it!
Some people like to sit at work and not work. Some people like to spend time with their family during holidays. There is no right or wrong. But if you want maximum free time with the least amount of vacation time, use your vacation time wisely.
There's no wrong answer. All depends on your needs. I personally would rather work during the slow time and sit at my desk taking it easy. But I always stay local for holidays. The bigger issue is that we have to have this conversation at all. We shouldn't have to weave PTO around holidays just to get 10 days off in a row. Anybody should be able to get 10 days off in a row any time.
Here in the UK we get christmas day and boxing day as national holidays so we only have to book three days for the 10 day period. Stick that one in your Tiktok
The last 3 companies that I worked for shut down for Xmas. You had no choice and had to go on holiday. I haven't worked over xmas for 7 years now.
Wow, in the UK I get 2 weeks off over Christmas and New Year standard (albeit unpaid), and I'm not even in a salaried role, I work short term contracts with no official holiday allowance (I get pro rata holiday pay for each job as though I was entitled to the UK standard 28 holiday days
🤪😂 How about stop whining and elect a decent government with the peoples' interests above corporate America's? Or relocate to a freer, fairer, happier Europe with an average of 40 days paid holiday/year! + statutory sick pay, maternity/paternity pay, carer's allowance, disability mobility allowance (a free car and insurance, or free taxis), free at the point of use universal health care. Oh, but yeah, keep forgetting, socialism in America only supports the billionaires 🤦🏼♂️
First: it's not a hack, it's a really freaking obvious way to save some PTO to anyone who has ever had to think about how to spread your PTO over the year, and second: just showing up to work and slacking off is also not necessarily a good advice.
i usually take these days off, to see family or just chill after Christmas and enjoy. My husband works at a university any way so we are limited as to when we can take time off together. No he isn't off all summer, he is getting new labs and things ready for the students, no way I want to try to vacation during spring break so it's July or Christmas.
Ya'll are like,"this is standard." I'm still over here trying to figure out, in what industry, do you forego working during the holidays. Because it isn't mine. The holidays are some of the busiest times and I don't work retail. Take your PTO however you see fit. We all work different industries. We all work different positions. You have to make the smartest decisions for your own situations. Looking to tiktok for "hacks" isn't going to make your life better. I once witnessed the over "convolution" of issues. Now, it seem to be, "the over simplification" of issues. There is a happy medium. We just can't seem to get there.
This is hilarious 🤣 as someone that works in a factory that is open 365 days a year even holidays, you may not be working, but many people are. The best advice is to read! Read the paperwork you get handed when you start a job. You may be entitled to time off you're not aware of like school hours, personal days, etc. Find out what gets paid out and what expires and use that your best advantage. Also, a silent prayer to all the temp agency workers who get 0 days of vacation & 0 paid holidays 🙏
How is 2nd of January a paid time off? Here it is January first that is paid time off in many cases.
Many companies will give January 2nd (or even the 3rd) as a holiday if Jan 1st is on the weekend.
Load More Replies... Because i worked at least half of the Christmas holidays, i met my husband, no work, lots of time to chat to one of the only clients.
Because i worked 29th of December i met my husband of now 19 years.
Funny...I've already had this setup and try to do this every year! :)
HR here. A bit ticked that the guy said "HR doesn't have your best interests at heart." HR reviews risk to the company. Sometimes that means bad news for the employee, but way more, management takes the heat for making superbly bad decisions. When it comes to PTO, take it how you want to do it. But if you're scheduled to work between Christmas and New Year, then you need to work, albeit without the normal urgency. Don't give leaders a reason to get in your case.
LMAO. The five days between Christmas and New years (because lol we don't get the 26th off), are the busiest days for my work. Holy sheet.
Paid Time Off. Some companies just give you an allotment of days to take off, regardless of reason, instead of days for specified reasons.
Load More Replies... 
I’m quite happy to work this period as there’s bugger all to do. You get to avoid all the family nonsense, play around on the internet and still get paid. What’s not to like?
This isn't unusual to do, do things however you want to do them. Personally I love having that week at work, but the laboratory can't be left unmanned even in shutdown like it is that week, so we negotiated a huge pay boost for working anywhere between Christmas Day and New Years Day. £100 an hour for 12 hours of sitting on your a*se all day? Yes please.
I'm not in HR, but I wish that people would stop spreading this negativity about HR. Judge your HR department on a case by case basis. If you work for a great company that cares about its employees, your HR dept is probably looking for a win-win, looking out for you and your employer. If you work for a crappy company that obviously doesn't care about you, then HR is probably there just as a revolving door for hires. There are a lot of great HR generalists and professionals out there that social media is generalizing as trying to screw you over.
Doesn't help that the thumb looks like she just had a 10h deepthroat session.
Yeah... not everyone has the same job or same types of jobs. Each person's situation is different. So yeah, take off when you want, but I do agree with his point that HR is there to protect the business, not the employee.
Load More Replies... BP - Respectfully, please stop posting tiktok content. The site is dangerous and the content is often low-quality.
So true... this article is just two nobodies bickering. Take your darn PTO when you can and want. Everyone has different rules in each company, and I bet, if you have some slight common sense you can check your calendar and see when the holidays are and plan accordingly.
Load More Replies... BoredPanda, are you starved for content anymore? There are so many fascinating artists out there for your writers to discover and neat books and shows to cover YET you continue to post TikTok, Influencer content, Am I the A*****e, and celebrity content. What's happening to the BoredPanda many of us used to love?
In France it is a common practice, if there is a public holiday for example on Thursday, people rush to ask for Friday to have a long weekend, we call it a bridge. If the public holiday falls on a Wednesday, you ask for Thursday and Friday. It's called an aqueduct. In short, it is almost a national sport to "plug" the gaps between public holidays, or to wedge vacation days when these public holidays fall because they are not counted as rest days that one takes, but these are mandatory rest days (everything depends of course on your profession, your on-call duties and the days of rest you have left). The month of May is known for this because there are many public holidays during this month.
This is not a new hack thing that this woman just figured out. People have been doing this since statutory holidays started. The time between Christmas and new year is a slow time at many companies. Some people prefer to take that time off because they often don’t have childcare or they have a big family Christmas or they travel. Other people prefer the quiet time to get caught up. I had one guy who was Jewish and he always covered for everyone else in the office so they could be off in exchange for getting thanksgiving off. But spare a thought for the people who have no choice because the holidays are their busiest times.
I respectfully disagree. I'd still be rather home with my family, they are worth those 4 days way more than keeping the PTO
Pretty standard practice in the UK around Christmas and Easter bank holidays. Many office-based companies even close down entirely between Xmas and New Year. Play the game well and you could get around 40 actual days off work each year for the "price" of your 28 statutory leave days. I personally like two weeks at Christmas, two at Easter and two in early September (when the schools have gone back and everything is quieter).
DUH. Not a hack, common sense to group PTO around company paid holidays and weekends. I take almost all my PTO that way.
I don't understand either the "great discovery" of the OP nor the response of the tiktokker. I don't ski, but many people do and if they want to take a ski vacation at Christmas, then the strategy from the OP (which is not like she invented Cold Fusion or anything) is sound. Maybe you want to spend time with family. That's OK too. I can appreciate showing up to work in an empty office. Some may see that as getting paid to watch youtube. That's OK too. But everyone is different. What works for the TikTok guy may not work for me (I work from home) and vice versa. I am sure some people don't like to be at work in an empty office or at a time they are unable to do significant work.
I do this every year. There's 2 stat holidays on the 24, 25 and 26th (well, my work takes Boxing Day off), and the 31st and 1st as a stat. So.... Why not?! Mind you, I'm also changing jobs soon, so I'll likely be expected to work around Christmas and won't be taking any time off until next fall. But in my current line of work it's a pain to work during the holidays and the people we interact with usually don't appreciate it, obviously, and I don't disagree with them.
I do this every holiday season and over the 4th. I always use my pto with paid holidays.
I just hate how smug these people look and say things like "I'm going to need you to listen up". Mate this isn't anything groundbreaking or unknown, everyone knows if certain days fall on certain days it works in your favour at work.
It depends on your job. If you're slaving over at a low wage and could use a breather at a more hectic time, then save the days for a better occasion. But if your work is such that it can pile up while your coworker tries to fill in for you, then don't sit there on a slow moment wasting your time. Also depends on how you are at work. If you detest being bored and wasting hours, take the in between days off. If you're overworked and the work can't pile up, go to work to relax on those days
People do this where I work all the time (you just have to be lucky enough, and senior enough, to get your request on before all the "slots" are full). Use your vacation days when you want to.
I'm fortunate that the company I work for shuts down on Christmas Eve and doesn't reopen until the first Monday after 1st Jan. Love it!
Some people like to sit at work and not work. Some people like to spend time with their family during holidays. There is no right or wrong. But if you want maximum free time with the least amount of vacation time, use your vacation time wisely.
There's no wrong answer. All depends on your needs. I personally would rather work during the slow time and sit at my desk taking it easy. But I always stay local for holidays. The bigger issue is that we have to have this conversation at all. We shouldn't have to weave PTO around holidays just to get 10 days off in a row. Anybody should be able to get 10 days off in a row any time.
Here in the UK we get christmas day and boxing day as national holidays so we only have to book three days for the 10 day period. Stick that one in your Tiktok
The last 3 companies that I worked for shut down for Xmas. You had no choice and had to go on holiday. I haven't worked over xmas for 7 years now.
Wow, in the UK I get 2 weeks off over Christmas and New Year standard (albeit unpaid), and I'm not even in a salaried role, I work short term contracts with no official holiday allowance (I get pro rata holiday pay for each job as though I was entitled to the UK standard 28 holiday days
🤪😂 How about stop whining and elect a decent government with the peoples' interests above corporate America's? Or relocate to a freer, fairer, happier Europe with an average of 40 days paid holiday/year! + statutory sick pay, maternity/paternity pay, carer's allowance, disability mobility allowance (a free car and insurance, or free taxis), free at the point of use universal health care. Oh, but yeah, keep forgetting, socialism in America only supports the billionaires 🤦🏼♂️
First: it's not a hack, it's a really freaking obvious way to save some PTO to anyone who has ever had to think about how to spread your PTO over the year, and second: just showing up to work and slacking off is also not necessarily a good advice.
i usually take these days off, to see family or just chill after Christmas and enjoy. My husband works at a university any way so we are limited as to when we can take time off together. No he isn't off all summer, he is getting new labs and things ready for the students, no way I want to try to vacation during spring break so it's July or Christmas.
Ya'll are like,"this is standard." I'm still over here trying to figure out, in what industry, do you forego working during the holidays. Because it isn't mine. The holidays are some of the busiest times and I don't work retail. Take your PTO however you see fit. We all work different industries. We all work different positions. You have to make the smartest decisions for your own situations. Looking to tiktok for "hacks" isn't going to make your life better. I once witnessed the over "convolution" of issues. Now, it seem to be, "the over simplification" of issues. There is a happy medium. We just can't seem to get there.
This is hilarious 🤣 as someone that works in a factory that is open 365 days a year even holidays, you may not be working, but many people are. The best advice is to read! Read the paperwork you get handed when you start a job. You may be entitled to time off you're not aware of like school hours, personal days, etc. Find out what gets paid out and what expires and use that your best advantage. Also, a silent prayer to all the temp agency workers who get 0 days of vacation & 0 paid holidays 🙏
How is 2nd of January a paid time off? Here it is January first that is paid time off in many cases.
Many companies will give January 2nd (or even the 3rd) as a holiday if Jan 1st is on the weekend.
Load More Replies... Because i worked at least half of the Christmas holidays, i met my husband, no work, lots of time to chat to one of the only clients.
Because i worked 29th of December i met my husband of now 19 years.
Funny...I've already had this setup and try to do this every year! :)
HR here. A bit ticked that the guy said "HR doesn't have your best interests at heart." HR reviews risk to the company. Sometimes that means bad news for the employee, but way more, management takes the heat for making superbly bad decisions. When it comes to PTO, take it how you want to do it. But if you're scheduled to work between Christmas and New Year, then you need to work, albeit without the normal urgency. Don't give leaders a reason to get in your case.
LMAO. The five days between Christmas and New years (because lol we don't get the 26th off), are the busiest days for my work. Holy sheet.
Paid Time Off. Some companies just give you an allotment of days to take off, regardless of reason, instead of days for specified reasons.
Load More Replies... I’m quite happy to work this period as there’s bugger all to do. You get to avoid all the family nonsense, play around on the internet and still get paid. What’s not to like?
This isn't unusual to do, do things however you want to do them. Personally I love having that week at work, but the laboratory can't be left unmanned even in shutdown like it is that week, so we negotiated a huge pay boost for working anywhere between Christmas Day and New Years Day. £100 an hour for 12 hours of sitting on your a*se all day? Yes please.
I'm not in HR, but I wish that people would stop spreading this negativity about HR. Judge your HR department on a case by case basis. If you work for a great company that cares about its employees, your HR dept is probably looking for a win-win, looking out for you and your employer. If you work for a crappy company that obviously doesn't care about you, then HR is probably there just as a revolving door for hires. There are a lot of great HR generalists and professionals out there that social media is generalizing as trying to screw you over.
Doesn't help that the thumb looks like she just had a 10h deepthroat session.
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