Running out of time to use your leave days? Do this

Another year over, and somehow it has happened again: you have lots of unused days of leave but no time left to take them. And, half your team is in the same position. Depending on where you work, you may be able to carry those days over to the next year; but quite often, you'll just forfeit them.

Is there anything you can do to ensure this doesn't happen next year?

All or nothing

"Employees stuck with stockpiled vacation days at the end of the year are likely in a mindset that vacation days should be saved for taking long, one or two-week, full vacations," said William Vanderbloemen, president and chief executive officer of Houston, Texas-based Vanderbloemen Search Group. To avoid this problem, he suggests tacking on a day of leave to a weekend every few weeks throughout the year. "This will ensure [you] are taking [your] vacation regularly, setting a healthy pace of rest, and in turn, minimising the potential of facing burnout," Vanderbloemen said.

Law on your side?

Depending on where you live, you may have the legal right to carry your leave over to the next year, according to Southern California-based Brett Good, senior district president with US human resource consulting firm Robert Half. For example, in the US, some states are carry-over states, while others have a "use it or lose it" law, Good said.

Read the full article here.