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What do you think about companies offering unlimited holidays? (Unlimited PTO - Paid Time Off)

Jernej Samide
5 replies
What sounds like paradise for employees who are not satisfied with their job is actually getting real. One recent survey involving 200 large US media, tech, and finance businesses found that 20% are offering some form of unlimited PTO. Twitter, Microsoft, Zoom, LinkedIn, Hubspot etc. all have some sort of PTO program in place. What do you think about this as employee or business owner?

Replies

Yousaf Ishaq
There are potential drawbacks to unlimited PTO policies. Without a set number of vacation days, employees may feel guilty taking time off or may feel pressured to work longer hours to make up for the time they take off. This can result in burnout, which can negatively impact both the employee and the company. Additionally, unlimited PTO policies can be difficult to manage, especially in smaller companies. There is a risk that some employees may abuse the policy by taking excessive time off, which can impact the company's productivity and profitability. However, I think it is important to carefully consider the potential benefits and drawbacks before implementing such a policy.
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Maija Riuttamäki
At first sounds fantastic, but often the reality is very different. I like the flexibility it provides. If one is having a tough phase in life, they are able to take more days off and less if they are not needed (if one can say that ;)). However, often company culture doesn't "allow" taking time off, and since there's no specific number one is "supposed" to take, employees find it hard to submit PTO requests. I read somewhere (sorry, forgot the source!) that employees in companies with unlimited PTO take less vacation days than in companies with limited. An important factor is also that if you change jobs, you are not entitled to any compensation regarding your time off. As an employee I'd rather see companies providing employees with a fair amount of PTO than unlimited PTO. I believe for business owners it makes sense to offer such a perk. I haven't heard that employees have misused it.
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Jernej Samide
@maija_riuttamaeki Thanks Maija - really like the "fair amount of PTO than unlimited PTO". What do you think a fair amount of PTO would be?
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Gabe Moronta
I worked at a European country once, I started with 6weeks vacation, finished with 7, we took everyday. And it was great, it was encouraged, as you know in Europe they consistently take their holidays serious and do not interrupt them as us in the US have a tendency to do. Following that experience worked for a company offering unlimited PTO, and it was nice at first, until I decided to take off more than 2 weeks at a time, something which I would do at the previous job without even so much as a discussion. I think there are two possible solutions to this, first is either offer a set amount of time, this way they use it, and that's their time. Or develop a certain amount of guidelines, you have unlimited time off, but not more than 3 weeks off at a time, or something like that.
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Jernej Samide
@gabe_moronta Really like your points Gabe. There definitely are some things you should avoid around this and also the Europe <> US differences are super interesting. Thanks for the insights
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