There has been a ton of discussion about the merits of unlimited vacation, offered by companies like Netflix,
The 400 salaried employees are evaluated on their individual performances, not face time. Still, they must be able to balance work and vacation responsibly to get their work done. And they must be able to work without constant supervision.
The more I read about unconventional methods of rewarding and retaining employees, the more the SMG management team discussed it, the clearer it became that offering unlimited paid time off to our employees made a ton of sense. Our business is extremely fast-paced, and while we are relatively small, we are mighty – working with huge organizations like 3M, Ford, CNN, SAP, Thomson Reuters and one of the top three global banks. We’re playing with the “big boys” and our incredible team has to deliver their A+ game – Every. Single. Day. (and sometimes after the day is technically over). Like Netflix, we are not interested in the adequate – our team is made up of exceptional, hard-working individuals because that’s what it takes to be the best.
It was that last part that really underscored the appropriateness of letting people take time when they needed it. Realistically, there is no such thing as a “work/life balance”. I think of it instead as a “work/life blend”. Sometimes your work blends into your life (working late or on weekends, doing what you need to do to deliver quality results). Why shouldn’t your life blend into your work (taking an afternoon off to spend with your kids)?
So, starting in September, Social Media Group began offering all of our employees unlimited time off. We obviously have some guidelines in place (with rewards come responsibility: you’re responsible for your own mental health, your clients and your colleagues), but I feel like it’s really lightened the load in our high-pressure, high-quality, top-notch delivery environment: no more worrying if you have enough vacation time saved to keep yourself healthy. Take time when you and your family need it; you have earned it.
What do you think about this policy? How do you think your organization would manage if a similar policy was instituted where you work?
Related articles
- Unlimited Paid Vacation Time: The Ultimate Perk? (blogs.wsj.com)
- Giving Workers Unlimited Time Off (blogs.forbes.com)
(Cross-posted @ Social Media Group)
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Thank you for offering a sane possibility in an overstressed world. I’m putting your link on my site too!
I love the idea of unlimited vacation time but somebody has to be responsible and show up for work. We have a small family business that sells used automobiles and services them.
Today is an excellent example of what I am talking about. Everyone decided that they needed the day off for one reason or another. One mechanic wanted the day off to go hunting, one owner took the day off because his wife is a teacher and she didn’t have school today, one detailer took the day off so she could drive the tractor while her Dad picked corn, another mechanic took the afternoon off because he had some farm work to do and another mechanic took the day off to go fishing. That left us with a skeleton crew for work today of five instead of ten on one of our busiest days of the week.. We survived but it makes it hard on everyone who is left at work.
I’ve always been in favor of giving an employee the day off if they ask for it regardless of whether it will make us short handed. Once they have asked for the day off, if you tell them no, in most cases you would have been better off to let them have it off because their heart is not into working when they really wanted the day off.
How do you organize the unlimited vacation so there is someone left to work? What if someone decides they like their vacation time more than work? Do you fire them? Who polices it?
@Jeanne – our policy is very straightforward:
1. You are responsible for your own mental health
2. You are accountable to your colleagues
3. You are accountable to your clients
Whether you have unlimited time off or not, scheduling vacation appropriately is a management challenge that any business needs to master. People can’t just take time off if there will be negative impact – it needs to be planned for. The freedom is that if they’ve been working very hard, they can grab a day or two (or longer) without ruining plans for the family vacation they had scheduled for the spring, take time throughout the year, work like maniacs for a year and take a chunk of time off. The flexibility is what works for our staff.
I’ll also add that it’s not for every business.
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