Let's take it one step further. Last month, we reported on how men and women use their time. The upshot was: working women spend more time doing housework and taking care of their family each day than working men, while men are putting in more hours at work.

Neither gender really wins, it appears. In general, compared to the old days, everyone is just working harder and longer.

In effect, though women are getting the equivalent of an extra 3-5 weeks off from work, we pointed out that it's no vacation. That extra time off is spent managing the family and the household. "It's like a second job," says Bill Coleman, Senior Vice President of Compensation at Salary.com.

HR professionals are assessing these questions carefully these days. For some companies, additional control over paid time off is being granted to employees.

With these realities as a backdrop, we decided to ask you a hypothetical question. Step back for a minute. Think about it, and be honest with yourself (and us!). If given the choice right now, would you go for more time-off or more money in the bank?  

Sample Policy for Time Off

So, would you recognize a generous time off policy if you saw one? If you had to establish a time off policy for your company, what questions would you ask? The following is a checklist of questions that a good policy for paid time off should answer. It can be used as a starting point for a negotiation, or for a business seeking to establish or revise a policy for paid time off.

Military Leave

In the wake of the events of September 11, President George W. Bush activated more than 10,000 military reservists in a partial mobilization of the nation's armed services, and that was just the beginning. As a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, by November 2004 almost 180,000 reservists have been called to active duty, temporarily leaving their communities and workplaces. Updated laws and legislation protect members of the uniformed services from certain workplace uncertainties, allowing reservists and guardsmen to leave their civilian posts to serve their country without having to worry about job security, delayed compensation, revoked benefits, or other adverse employer reactions.