Why should you negotiate for leaves and not salary…

 I once read an advice to negotiate a leave than on salary at work. The presentation advised about travel and came across the point. I was highly impressed by the presentation and made a mental note of a few points to try when life permitted.

Amongst the other advices, this one is proved to be the one I remember most clearly. It sounds like "the thing to do" to me. My reasons though are slightly different than the presentation.

So here are my top reasons to negotiate on leaves -

1) Spend time with your family -Take those extra days to spend time with your parents, spouse, kids. In our busy work schedule we almost forget to do this. In these extra days spend time in accompanying your family in various activities of their life. Help your wife to get a meal together, visit the park/doctor with your parents. Drop your kids to school, help them with homework, and take them to their hobby classes.

2) Finish your pending tasks - Lawyers, bankers, doctors almost all of them have weekends off. Extra off days are good days to finish the pending tasks before situation turns grave. Pay the bills, plan your future, and finish your old tasks.

3) Take time out for your hobby - Weekends often seem less when it comes to pursuing the things you love to do. If you are a working mother, you probably have a to-do list on weekends too. On these leaves, you do what you like - tend your plants, read books, write your journal/blog, go for a swim, go to a spa, relax and watch TV if you want.

4) Work to get a quality life - Want to pursue a dream career? Take this day to explore opportunities. Working couple - take off together to spend time together. Introspect, retrospect, dream and make plans.

5) Travel - If you are a travel bug like me, use these leaves to fulfill your cravings. Combine these leaves with some holidays and take off to hills, to beaches or to that unexplored path.

Actually there are a few more reasons to do so, but these I guess can convince you to negotiate on leaves during your next interview/appraisal. Your boss might argue why- the answer is these leaves will make you more productive. Once your needs, worries and aspirations are taken care of you spend time in office more effectively. No more e-banking or deciding on mutual fund. No more search of jobs or constant phone calls. No more personal stress and craving to do something else. Top most reason- you would have enough work to take care of before you go and when you come back to not idle away your office hours.

Good luck...