Unlimited—this word, when added in front of a subject, can make a world of a difference. There’s a dramatically positive effect the word has on getting people involved. Maybe a person is on the fence about something, but the moment you throw that keyword in, out goes the indecisiveness. Unlimited trips to the buffet or unlimited miles for your car’s warranty would always get an “opt-in” response from the customer. Some companies are shifting toward the notion of “unlimited paid time off” or “unlimited PTO” for its employees. This trend has been surfacing across businesses like Netflix and Virgin Mobile. With such recognizable brands implementing this, is it safe to say this idea is for everyone?
Why are companies shifting to unlimited PTO?
The reason why companies are considering a shift toward unlimited PTO stems from freeing up HR resources, granting employees more autonomy, and encouraging a better work-life balance. Companies are holding their employees accountable for ensuring their work is completed on time and that when they are out of the office, the work can be managed. As long as these restrictions are adhered to, employees have the wonderful commodity of taking as much time off as they’d like. To a lot of employers out there, red flags are going up left and right. Where is the line drawn between taking occasional vacations at an employee’s leisure and completely abusing the system? This is a concern that companies are still trying to work out.
This policy is definitely not one-size-fits-all. Larger companies that have been around ages prefer traditional methods for vacation time. This trend is becoming more prevalent among startups, rapidly growing companies, and the mammoth-sized companies, like Virgin and Netflix, with satellite offices that uphold the “smaller company vibe”. The number of workplaces offering unlimited PTO is growing, and this appears to be the next big trend on added perks to offer prospective employees.
What do employees think about it?
The real question is left to be answered by the employees themselves—is this a good policy? Employees that are part of a company with unlimited PTO seem to enjoy it. There’s a greater sense of autonomy and accountability in place, and employees appreciate the flexibility that comes with it. Even with this policy, people still seem to take the traditional route in taking time off—getting approval, coordinating with other team members, and typically giving plenty of notice. Now, there’s just the option to plan more vacation time without worrying about remaining hours.
If unlimited PTO is a perk that you’d enjoy having in your job or an option you have to have, there are a lot of IT companies shifting toward or already implementing this policy.
