Tag: workplace

1 in 4 People Use Zero Vacation Days?

A new report found that 23% of employees didn’t take a single vacation day in the past year, even though most of them technically have PTO.

You’ve probably heard it from your boss or HR team: “Make sure you take time for yourself!” Which sounds lovely… until you try to schedule a week off and suddenly you’re treated like you just asked to take the breakroom coffeemaker to Mexico.

The main reason? Work has become like a treadmill that’s on fire.

43% say their workload is just too heavy to justify taking time off, and 30% worry they’ll drown in emails the second they get back. Another 29% say they feel guilty about requesting PTO because it might make them look “less committed,” and one in four workers say their boss would probably react badly if they asked for a whole week off. (Apparently, “mental health” is only encouraged on weekends and national holidays.)

Then there’s the “unlimited PTO” trap… a perk that sounds amazing until you realize it’s really code for, “We’ll never tell you what’s too much, but you’ll know when you’ve crossed the line.”

Workers in tech know this game well: unlimited vacation, but somehow every week is the wrong week to take it.

And sure, some people say they don’t have enough PTO to take a real vacation anyway. A day off to do laundry and cry into a sandwich doesn’t count.

Here’s the thing: time off actually helps companies. It boosts morale, focus, and productivity. It even makes workplaces feel more like a team instead of a group therapy session that charges by the hour.

So yeah, “take time for yourself.” Just make sure it’s not during a busy quarter, before a product launch, after a holiday, or on any day ending in “Y.”

Gen Z Says “Forget the the Corporate Ladder… Where Are the Lily Pads?”

For decades, people were told to “climb the corporate ladder.” But Gen Z is like, “Nah, we’re good. Ladders are wobbly. Also, an OSHA violation waiting to happen.”

Instead, they’re into something called the “career lily pad.” Picture it: instead of struggling rung by rung, you just hop around to whatever opportunity looks the comfiest at the time. (Fewer splinters, more frogs.)

An “expert” explains it like this: “We’ve traded the rigid ladder for lily pads… because hopping around is more sustainable, more realistic, and better suited for today’s workplace realities.”

Translation: “I’ll take the job that makes sense right now, and if something shinier comes along, I’m out.”

And the numbers back it up:

  • 68% of Gen Z workers say they won’t even consider management unless it comes with big money or a fancy title.
  • 57% of Gen Z already have a side hustle. (Compare that to 48% of Millennials, 31% of Gen X, and just 21% of Boomers, who apparently only side hustle when it’s coupon clipping.)

So no, Gen Z isn’t lazy… they’re just ambitious in different directions. For them, the 9-to-5 is just the investor for their passion projects.

And get this: Gen Z is still expected to make up about 10% of managers this year. They’re not against management… they just want to run things their way: more flexibility, more balance, less “micromanaging boss breathing down your neck.”

Experts even suggest older workers could learn from them:

  • Set real boundaries (no more “quick emails” at 11 PM).
  • Diversify your career moves.
  • Pick mental health over climbing corporate Mount Doom.
  • And hey, stop panicking about A.I., and use it instead of fearing it.

So yeah, the future of work might look less like climbing and more like a giant game of Frogger.

Every Donut, Ranked from Best to Worst

If you’re ever tasked with picking up donuts for the office, do you go the lazy route and just get a dozen or two glazed, or “whatever”… or are you a hero who puts some PASSION into it? Because that’s clearly the way to go.

The donut addicts at Thrillist.com have a ranking of 24 “classic donuts” from best to worst… and spoiler alert: If you’re a cinnamon bun fan, get ready for a FIGHT.

Here’s how they ranked them:

  1. Glaze Round – The so-called “pinnacle of donuts everywhere.”
  2. Rainbow Sprinkles
  3. Old Fashioned – “Its ridges, apt for catching glaze, make eating this donut feel like a handheld, portable pound cake.”
  4. Raspberry Jelly – “A sticky and wonderfully messy gift.”
  5. Apple Fritter – “The healthiest donut there is.” (Do not fact-check this.)
  6. Donut Holes – Because you can eat more, and there are “no rules.”
  7. Chocolate Frosted
  8. Crumb Cake – Which adds a “crunchy, buttery, brown sugar topping to an already exquisite creation.”
  9. Blueberry Cake – “It’s severely underrated.”
  10. Glaze Twist and Sugar Twist
  11. Boston Cream – “Even though some criticize it for being hole-less.”
  12. French Cruller – The snooty, French cousin of the Glaze Round.
  13. Apple Cider Cake
  14. Powdered Sugar – Despite the white fingerprints that end up everywhere.
  15. Sugar Round – For criminals who don’t want their fingerprints everywhere.
  16. Bear Claw – It fell due to its “flat, limp, yeasted-dough shape.”
  17. Maple Glazed
  18. Buttermilk Bar
  19. Strawberry Frosted
  20. Cinnamon Bun – “We’d rather just get a freshly baked cinnamon roll.”
  21. Chocolate Cake
  22. Lemon Jelly – “The ‘jelly’ in these donuts is mostly gloppy cornstarch mixtures with an artificial lemon flavor in an unnatural shade of yellow.”
  23. Coconut Cake – “There’s no way around it: Coconut is controversial.”
  24. Plain Cake

This may be controversial, but I secretly really enjoy a “plain cake” donut, especially if I’m still having coffee. But it shouldn’t be. After all, if I’m eating the plain cake, that leaves 23 better options for you.

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