Worker Praised After He 'Gaslit' Boss Into Giving More PTO Days

A worker has been praised online after saying they "gaslit" their boss into giving their team more paid time off.

In a viral post shared on Reddit's popular antiwork group, which can be seen here, user blantanttrees described how they tricked their boss into making the generous gesture by leading him to believe it was longstanding company policy.

The post started a debate comparing the big differences in how much paid time off workers receive around the world and drawing attention to the relatively limited leave entitlements many U.S. workers get.

According to career website Zippia, the average number of paid time days off in the U.S. in 2021 is 10 days in the private sector, not including paid holidays and sick days.

Zippia also found that 55 percent of Americans don't use all their paid time off and workers left an average of 6.5 unused days in 2018.

The user posted: "We are currently hiring to fill a position that recently opened up, which inspired me to create an employee handbook (there wasn't one before) and go over policies and benefits for all employees and make sure we're all on the same page.

"Before this, the information was super nebulous and not clear at all. Everything except the paid time off. Now the PTO (paid time off) days available were absolutely pathetic, only five days after working with the company for two years.

"When writing up the new handbook, I made multiple tiers, allowing employees to earn more PTO the longer they're with the company, but starting with a minimum of 10 days after one year (still not ideal but I didn't want to push it)."

The post continued: "When reviewing the handbook, my very absent-minded and often verbally abusive boss asked about this saying 'I thought it was only five days?' to which I replied, 'hmm idk [I don't know], the old handbook said this was what it was and it seems pretty standard.

"Do you want me to change it? He said 'no, I guess if the old one said it then it's true.' There was no old handbook.

"This guys is a millionaire, so a few extra PTO days won't kill him, but makes such a big difference for my awesome crew. I couldn't be more pleased."

Since being shared on Wednesday, July 27, the post has been upvoted more than 15,800 times and it attracted some 417 comments.

Many of those who commented were amused by the worker's crafty thinking, but many also bemoaned how few paid days off people in the U.S. receive.

One Reddit user said: "This is f***ing beautiful. Next year it might require another revision."

Another commenter posted: "He's a millionaire and he's this f***ing stupid. Honestly beggars belief."

While a third shared: "Good for you, but isn't it just so sad that we have to 'trick' the multimillionaire bosses into treating us like humans?

"They've always been able to treat us well, just decided not to. F these guys, I'll take mine for whatever and however I can at this point."

Newsweek has contacted blantanttrees for comment.

The U.S. is an outlier among Western countries in that it offers far fewer paid days off compared to many other economies.

In the U.K., while there are exceptions, most employees who work a five-day week receive 28 days of paid annual leave a year.

While in Finland, workers are able to claim 30 days of annual leave if they work at least 14 days or 35 hours per calendar month and if they have been employed for more than a year.