Staggered Leave Cannot Be Applied with a "One-Size-Fits-All" Approach — This Unit Delivers a Rectification "Combination Punch"

"I suggest you split your leave into separate periods — it won't interfere with later assessments, and you'll get to go home one more time. Two birds, one stone." Not long ago, in the company office of a certain company under the Xianning Detachment of the People's Armed Police Hubei General Corps, Political Instructor Luo held Squad Leader Zhao's leave application form and offered this earnest advice.

Squad Leader Zhao's home is in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province — more than 2,500 kilometers from the company's garrison. Every time he goes home, he has to take a plane, then a train, then a bus. Not only does the journey take a long time, but the travel costs are no small sum. He had wanted to take his family visit leave all at once, both to save on travel expenses and to avoid making the trip back and forth multiple times. But after hearing the political instructor's words, and considering that the instructor was genuinely looking out for him, Squad Leader Zhao — who had been on the verge of saying something — nodded and agreed.

This scene was witnessed by Section Chief Li of the headquarters' human resources section, who was at the time conducting an on-site inspection at the company. Political Instructor Luo's suggestion seemed reasonable, but the sight of Squad Leader Zhao stopping himself mid-thought left Section Chief Li with a nagging question: was this kind of advice a reflection of genuine understanding of what the soldier wanted, or had it simply become a "habitual reflex"?

After the inspection, Section Chief Li returned to headquarters and pulled the detachment's leave plans and approval forms from the past three years. What he found was unsettling: the data showed that approximately 85% of soldiers whose hometowns were within 1,500 kilometers of the garrison mostly chose staggered leave, and their actual leave usage was broadly consistent with their leave plans. Among the smaller number of soldiers whose hometowns were more than 1,500 kilometers away, over 80% had applied in their leave plans to take all their leave at once — yet nearly all of them ended up being approved only for staggered leave.

To get to the bottom of the matter, Section Chief Li sought out several company-level cadres and senior soldiers to learn more. What he heard was that everyone had their own difficulties. One cadre admitted frankly: "We know that some soldiers want to take all their leave at once, but the company's annual mission schedule is packed. When competitions and assessments come up, being short even one key soldier affects the unit's overall performance and annual evaluations." A squad leader did the math: "With staggered leave, each period is short, so soldiers bounce back quickly after returning to the unit. With all leave taken at once, the period is longer — not only is it harder to manage personnel while they're away, but it's also harder for them to quickly readjust to the training tempo when they return."

What the cadres and senior soldiers said showed Section Chief Li the other side of the problem: soldiers who live close to home spend little on travel, and staggered leave lets them go home more times, so they are more willing to stagger their leave. Soldiers who live far from home, on the other hand, spend upwards of a thousand yuan on travel for a single round trip; staggered leave not only doubles those costs, but also means they barely arrive home before it is time to turn around and leave.

Section Chief Li included this situation in his on-site inspection report and delivered a special briefing on it, which drew the attention of the detachment Party committee. They concluded that while leave arrangements may seem like a minor matter, they are in fact directly tied to the sense of gain (获得感) felt by officers and soldiers. A soldier's desire to save on travel costs and spend more time with family is a reasonable demand; a unit leader's concern about the impact on unit development and management effectiveness is also a real consideration. The fact that most people were willing to stagger their leave had allowed "staggered leave is good for everyone" to become a kind of ingrained assumption among unit leaders, causing them to overlook the demands of the minority of soldiers who live farther from home.

"We must both see the soldiers' reasonable needs and relieve pressure on grassroots commanders." The detachment's leadership explained that they addressed the issue at the institutional level, delivering a rectification "combination punch": they compiled and distributed to subordinate units a list of major annual tasks, giving companies a basis for scheduling leave plans and the confidence to approve longer leaves; they stipulated that leave plans must solicit the opinion of each individual soldier, be deliberated collectively, and be publicly posted, so that every officer and soldier's needs can be seen; and they established a leave approval and review system under which, absent special circumstances, leave plans must be strictly implemented — no longer allowing "good for everyone" to become "deciding for you." At the same time, they worked to further alleviate grassroots commanders' concerns by strengthening discipline education, introducing restorative training for soldiers returning from leave, and developing an "A/B post" (AB岗) cultivation mechanism for key positions.

Before long, the newly drawn-up leave plans were posted publicly. Squad Leader Zhao's application to take all his leave at once was approved without difficulty. He immediately called his wife: "The leave has been approved — I can stay home for a few more days this time!"

Watching the smile on Squad Leader Zhao's face, Political Instructor Luo also breathed a sigh of relief. He wrote the following in his notebook: "The habits of the majority should not become a burden on the minority. True 'doing what's good for you' should start by asking the soldier, 'What do you want?'"