Integrity Ideas are specific actions a leader can consider during the Re-Align step of Integriosity^®–actions that will begin to Re-Align the organization with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.  You can find more Integrity Ideas at Integrous | Integrity Ideas (integriosity.com)

INTEGRITY IDEA: Start a Bank (a “Leave Bank”)

“Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” is about creating a “leave bank” into which employees may deposit unused PTO (and the organization may make matching or supplemental deposits) either to be drawn by co-workers facing an emergency or disaster or donated to charity. It is a variation of the “employee fund” we presented as an Integrity Idea in post #131 (Integrity Idea 005: Fund an Employee Fund) funded with the value of unused PTO rather than cash.

It recognizes that many workers do not fully utilize their PTO, with it either evaporating (as a waste for the employee) or accumulating (as a liability to the organization). “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” also recognizes that co-workers can face unexpected health emergencies or disasters that require extra time away from work that would otherwise be unpaid, adding a financial burden to the emergency or disaster.

In a community aligned with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities, opportunities to “love your neighbor” should be facilitated and encouraged. “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” is about providing a way for employees to exercise generosity by loving their neighbor in a tangible way in a moment of need.

It is about a work community being a faithful presence by taking care of its members. Generosity is such a foundational Biblical principle to operating with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing that it is embedded in our word Integriosity^®, which combines integrity and generosity.

Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  We believe some are critical (and necessary) steps in the RENEW/RE-ALIGN/RE-IMAGINE/RESTORE process.  Others are just ideas to be considered if they feel like a good fit based on what leaders prayerfully discern is best for stewarding the organization toward its WHY.

“Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” is about employee benefits, and we believe employee benefits usually fall into the “if it’s a good fit” category.

Providing employees with the ability to donate PTO time is not a new idea, but it is also not widespread. SHRM’s 2024 Employee Benefits Survey reports that 24% of companies offer a leave donation program while 56% of workers are interested in a PTO donation option.  A recent Harris poll found that 78% of Americans do not use the maximum amount of their PTO.

While leave banks can be structured in many ways, a leave bank generally allows employees to donate a portion of their PTO for use by co-workers facing a medical emergency (either personally or in their family) or a disaster situation, because these do not result in adverse tax consequences to the donor.  Leave banks can also be established to allow the value of PTO time to be donated to charitable organizations.

The Bible is full of passages about sharing wealth to help each other through difficult times.  For example:

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? (1 John 3:17)

Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor. (Proverbs 22:9)

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 3:16)

And we have the example of the Acts church sharing what they had “as any had need.”  “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” says “we are a community of human beings engaged in sacred work together, and we help care for each other when life throws a curveball.”

For employees, a leave bank solves the problem of evaporating PTO if the organization has a “use it or lose it” policy.  If an employee is able to accumulate PTO, a leave bank facilitates generosity without needing to come “out-of-pocket”.  For the organization, a leave bank can boost morale by providing an outlet for PTO that would otherwise be lost and helps with encouraging the use of accumulating PTO that is a financial liability for the organization.

Pope John Paul II in Laborem Exercens observed:

Thus work bears a particular mark of man and humanity, the mark of a person operating within a community of persons.

An organization where people work is a community.  Indeed, organizations have intrinsic Kingdom value because they create the platform and the opportunity for humans to come together in relationship to express and fulfill their humanity through work by producing and promoting flourishing in ways that could not be accomplished by people working alone.

A leave bank reinforces a sense of community in which people recognize the dignity of their co-workers as fellow humans created in God’s image.  It also facilitates employees living sacrificially and, in the process, living out the commandment to love their neighbor and the New Commandment to love as God loves us.

CONTINUUM: Practices

The Integriosity model organizes “heart change” along six Covert-Overt Continuums.  There is nothing magic about these categories, but we believe they are helpful in thinking about practical execution of a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and a Re-Imagined Culture.  The Continuums are Prayer, Proclamation, Policies, Practices, Products, People.

Each Continuum represents an area in which leaders can begin to think about, plan and institute Re-Alignment changes to the heart of the organization.

“Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” is on Practices Continuums.  Practices reflect, and at the same time help shape and reinforce, an organization’s culture.  Purpose and values define the culture of an organization; the culture shapes the behavior of the people in the organization; and the behavior of the people drives the results of the organization.  On the Practices Continuum, “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” can help reinforce a culture that prioritizes relationships, community, human dignity, and flourishing. To the extent employees are involved in making deposits to a leave bank, they become ambassadors of the organization’s culture of caring and generosity.

COVERT-OVERT RATING: Highly Covert

The Integriosity model breaks the Covert-Overt Continuums into six gradations–from Highly Covert to Highly Overt–that we believe are helpful in beginning to pray and think about what is most appropriate for an organization at a particular moment in time.

Most Integrity Ideas will have one place on the scale.  Some can vary depending on how they are implemented.  “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” is Highly Covert (an action that would be taken by a secular company), but it can move to the overt end of the Continuum if the leaders of the organization choose to explain it in terms of faith and Biblical principles.

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Community

When we categorize faith-based actions, we also consider the stakeholders principally impacted by the action: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community and Kingdom.

“Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” is about empowering Employees by giving them the opportunity to put unused PTO to use, encouraging Employees to be generous and care for their co-workers, providing a platform for Employees to love their neighbor and support charitable causes without coming “out-of-pocket”, and caring for, valuing and “seeing” Employees who face unexpected emergencies or disasters.  To the extent the leave bank permits charitable donations, it also benefits the Community.

IMPLEMENTATION

For a faithful leader seeking to lead with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing, “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” makes complete sense conceptually. It facilitates the “first things” of Love and Generosity, reinforces Imago Dei, and helps people live out the commandment to love their neighbor.

However, implementing “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” is not simple, is not cost-free, and is not risk-free.  There are many alternatives and options that must be submitted to prayerful discernment by any faithful leader considering implementing “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)”.

The most difficult part of implementing “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” is making choices–choices about how who can participate as donors, what PTO and how much PTO can be donated, whether the organization will contribute, how to minimize any risk of cash flow problems for the organization, whether donations can be reclaimed, who will be eligible to receive donated PTO, how donated PTO will be valued, the needs that will be eligible for donated PTO, the application criteria, the application process, the grantmaking process, whether PTO may be donated to charitable organizations.

It should start with a committee tasked with prayerfully shaping the program.  That committee could be just management or it could include employees (potential beneficiaries).  We think including employees is a wonderful opportunity to spread a culture of generosity and caring.

Because “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” can have important tax implications for donors, recipients and the organization and must comply with state and local laws about PTO, an experienced benefits advisor and• legal counsel should be involved.  PTOExchange is one organization focused specifically on helping organizations implement and administer programs for the creative use of PTO, and their website provides a wealth of information and ideas.  Because leave banks have been around for decades, many benefit firms have published information and guidance online.

Here are some questions for the committee to consider:

• Donors. Who will be eligible to donate PTO?  Will executives be eligible?

• Donation Limits.  What type of PTO can be donated and how much?  If PTO is segregated by sick time and vacation time, should sick time be ineligible to ensure it is available to the employee?  In post #175 (Integrity Idea 025: Reward Rest), we stressed the importance of cultivating a culture in which taking periods of rest is honored and encouraged (and in which failing to take them is actively discouraged).

Employees with unused PTO may be a sign that the organization’s culture around “rest” needs to be examined.  Allowing employees to donate so much PTO that they are not left with adequate rest is not conducive to a culture of flourishing in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.

• Organization Contributions. Will the organization contribute PTO value to the leave bank?  If so, will it be a specific amount or done on a matching basis to employee donations?  If so, what will be the matching basis?

We believe organizational donations are an important part of reinforcing a culture of caring for the community.  During the Covid pandemic, Whole Foods was criticized because its CEO suggested to employees that PTO donations to their existing leave bank was one way to help co-workers in need. Whole Foods was accused of trying to shift the burden of employee care on employees rather than stepping up itself (with the vast wealth of its parent Amazon).

One executive has gone so far as to call leave sharing programs “toxic” and “dehumanizing” for shifting the burden of insufficient PTO to co-workers.  The potential for criticism should be a consideration for faithful leaders as they prayerfully discernment whether and how to implement “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)”

• Cash Flow. A leave bank program can disrupt normal expectations about PTO usage, impacting cash flow assumptions.  This could be an issue if, for example, a disaster occurred impacting a large number of employees.  Is this likely to be an issue? What steps could be taken to limit exposure?

• Reclaiming Donations.  Can an employee who has donated PTO to the leave bank reclaim it if they find that they need the time?  If, on what terms and with what limitations?

• Eligible Recipients. Who will be eligible for donated PTO?  Will executives be eligible?  Depending on how PTO is valued in the leave bank, use by higher-paid employees can quickly deplete a pool donated by lower-paid employees.  Higher-paid employees may also be better able to weather a hardship through unpaid time.

For an organization with multiple facilities, will a leave bank be administered on a company-wide basis or on a facility basis?

• Valuing PTO. There are basically two ways to value PTO. It can be valued based on the time contributed or based on the value of the time contributed and the value of the time withdrawn.

For example, if one employee donates three days, other employees could withdraw three days. While this sounds fair and simple, it can result in unforeseen costs to the organization.  If an employee earning $25/hour donates three hours that are withdrawn by an employee earning $75/hour, the organization will be paying $150 more than it would have otherwise paid.

Alternatively, PTO contributed can valued and withdrawn based on the value of the time.  For example, the three hours donated by the $25/hour employees would only fund one hour if withdrawn by the $75/hour employee.  This illustrates how the inclusion of higher-paid employees can quickly deplete a leave bank.

• Eligible Needs. We are not tax experts, but it seems that there are only two types of needs that may be covered by a leave bank without adverse tax consequences to the donor–medical emergencies and major disasters.  If a need qualifies in one of these two IRS exemptions, the leave bank donation is not taxable to the donor as income (but it is taxable as income to the recipient).  Otherwise, it is taxable as income to both the donor and the recipient.

If the leave bank provides for the value of PTO to be donated to a charity, the donor is taxed on the value of the donated PTO, but they will have an offsetting charitable deduction.

Various requirements need to be met to take advantage of the IRS exemptions.  For these reasons, implementation of a leave bank program requires the guidance of HR and tax advisors.

• Recipient Limits. Will there be a limit on how many days a recipient may withdraw? With no limit, a leave bank could be depleted by a few recipients.

• Application Process. What will be the application process?  How can confidentiality be maintained if it is done internally?  How can it be done in a way that maintains the dignity of the applicant?

• Approval Process. Who will evaluate and approve applications?  Any internal committee of management? Of employees? Of a combination of management and employees? A third-party processor based on well-defined criteria?  By a senior leader based on the recommendation of a committee? Will an internal committee be told the identity of the applicant or only the circumstances of the need?

What procedures can be put in place to ensure that applications are handled equitably?  How will confidentiality be maintained?

• Communication. How will the leave bank program be announced to employees?  Will the communications tie the program to Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities?  Will the program be communicated to those outside the organization such as on the website?  Will public communications be overt about faith underpinnings?

The questions may seem overwhelming, and a knee-jerk reaction might be to just tell HR to outsource the whole thing.  We believe that would be a missed opportunity.

It would be a missed opportunity to engage members of the community in thinking about how best to care for fellow members.  It would also be a missed opportunity to engage the community in thinking about how best to engage the broader community.  It would be a missed opportunity to give people a voice—one of the three elements (along with vision and value) Michael Stallard points to for creating a healthy culture in which employees feel connected.

PERSONAL NOTE (from PM): I had never heard of a “leave bank” or PTO donations until a few days ago.  I was reading Education of a CEO by Bill Yeargin, the CEO of Correct Craft.  In his book, Yeargin was describing the various ways Correct Craft lives out “internal Support” aspect of the “Philanthropy” pillar of its culture, and he mentioned employees donating vacation time to help others in need.  I was immediately curious.

In writing about Correct Craft’s WHY of “Making Life Better”. Yeargin writes:

We want to give our team opportunities to invest in making life better for others.

Education of a CEO is written with tremendous humility by a man who stewarded well an organization with a rich history that was built on a faithful foundation.  I had the pleasure of hearing, meeting and talking to Yeargin at the 2025 Flourishing@Work Summit.

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.

INTEGRITY IDEA: Start a Bank (a “Leave Bank”)

“Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” is about creating a “leave bank” into which employees may deposit unused PTO (and the organization may make matching or supplemental deposits) either to be drawn by co-workers facing an emergency or disaster or donated to charity.  It recognizes that many workers do not fully utilize their PTO, with it either evaporating (as a waste for the employee) or accumulating (as a liability to the organization). “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” also recognizes that co-workers can face unexpected health emergencies or disasters that require extra time away from work that would otherwise be unpaid, adding a financial burden to the emergency or disaster. “Start a Bank (a Leave Bank)” is about providing a way for employees to exercise generosity by loving their neighbor in a tangible way in a moment of need. It is about a work community being a faithful presence by taking care of its members. Generosity is such a foundational Biblical principle to operating with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing that it is embedded in our word Integriosity^®, which combines integrity and generosity.

COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Practices

COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Highly Covert

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Community

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Photo credit: Original image by Jose Fabula on Unsplash

(image cropped)