Our holiday policy is so strange. We follow the stock exchange, except for the early closes. So on Christmas Eve, which is a half day for the stock exchange, we are "scheduled" for a full day. If you want vacation, you have to take 8 hours. But, you are rewarded if you come in, because then you can leave at noon and take the rest of the day paid. For New Year's Eve, it's similar except you can leave at 3pm if you come in.
This seems weird to me. I work for a really big financial company and my manager asked everyone she knew in HR to make sure this was correct policy and I guess it is.
I was just thinking about this! It doesn't seem fair that if you showed up (and let's be honest here- probably did minimal work), you get free hours off. But if I take the day off, what am I supposed to do? Ask my coworkers what time they left and deduct that from my vacation used? That seems weird. So I don't do that, and just try to work all the suspected half-days that I can (ie daycare is open and I'm not traveling). It's like a small investment to save a day of vacation.
I remember at my old job, it wasn't a firm wide policy, but my manager at the time - Thanksgiving? If you were scheduled to work the day AFTER Thanksgiving, you got to leave early on the day before t-giving. AND they also let you leave early the day after too.
So- if I wanted the day after off, as you said - I had to use 8 hours of leave, but then between those two days, the people who didn't take off basiclaly got 8 hours of leave "free". Maybe it wasn't quite a full 8 hours, but still....
I didn't care as much about the day after. I wanted the day off - I'm fine w/ taking the full 8 hours and if those who came in got a couple hours off, then so be it.
But I felt that the day BEFORE should be open to EVERYONE (we would draw straws and based on the length, we left early in hour increments). The day after t-giving shouldn't ahve been thrown into the mix.
Yeah, the hospital I work at does this too - although the stated policy is people can leave at 3 on Christmas Eve, most of the managers will close up at lunch-time.
It's annoying if you're already taking the day, but it's lovely if you don't have time to take off, so you're having to work all the way to Christmas. As someone who's had to work all the way to Christmas, I don't mind losing out on a bit of free time off when I'm able to take the days before (plus, I'm already on holiday )
Re: Holidays
I really don't think it's that odd. They are being nice to people.