This question about how to negotiate more paid time off is super relevant to a lot of people. I saw this question on a forum and wanted to share my response on my blog here as well.

The shortest summary is that you are in a position of power here.

If you have a job offer and you have not yet given a response, they are waiting for you. Not the other way around. So taking time to figure out what is important to you and then asking for the same is most encouraged.

If it is a small company (this person said it was 150-200 employees company), benefits should be highly negotiable. However, how you get there might not be a straight path. As in, if you want more benefits like more paid time off, you might consider approaching from another place (salary) and ending up there (more time off).

A good approach for getting more paid time off may be to talk about salary first especially if you can compare what they are offering you in terms of salary to a previous role. You are encouraged to point out without hesitation what you used to make and pit that against what they are offering taking into account location, etc. If you used to make more or about the same then this would make a lot of sense. But even if you made less, you can and should still spin it in your favor.

Basically, make it seem like they are not paying you enough.

Because, let us be real, they are not. We cannot put a dollar value on our free time, and our free lives when we can do what we want and when we are not “slaves” to the company. Come on, nobody gets paid enough to not have the time off that they need.

Nobody gets paid enough to not have the time off that they need.

After broaching the topic of pay and how you are not entirely thrilled with how much they are paying you, you can bring up, well, “Can I get more paid time off, then?”

By leveraging the salary topic you could ask for more vacation and even unlimited vacation. Of course, “unlimited” does not mean unlimited – in the United States, it probably means around four weeks max but still, it would provide peace of mind.

Next point is that you should say this in a matter-of-fact way, not in a pleading way. Put it forward as to how you need the time to recharge in order to do the JOB better. Not why you need it so you can do other things like spending time with family, etc. because ultimately businesses care about their business, not our personal lives, unfortunately.

Put it forward as to how you need more paid time off to recharge in order to do the JOB better. Not why you need it so you can do other things like spending time with family, etc. because ultimately businesses care about their business, not our personal lives, unfortunately.

Good luck. And the power is with you. Nowadays, benefits are kind of like really, really important and many companies stand out for their benefits so to not provide competitive ones is just silly on the company’s part. Do not back down on benefits.

We can find ways to make money if is about money. What companies provide in terms of benefits affects our whole lives and quality of life on the job. What is the point of even having a job without the kind of life you would want to be living?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Sharing is caring! Share with someone you know needs to hear this.

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