Take all the time you need. Taking time off gives up the opportunity to recharge our batteries and is crucial every now and then.
The majority of companies have a set number of paid days that employees can take off every year, recently there has been a rise in the number of companies offering their staff the opportunity to take as many days off as they like. This practice is highly disputed with some saying that it leaves employees confused to how much time they should take off or those in favour of it says that it allow employees to take as much time as they need without feeling limited.
Even though the practice is highly disputed there seems to be a rise in the number of companies implementing the unlimited holiday policy, with a significant rise in the USA amongst tech companies. It is now beginning to spill into countries such as the UK and Ireland.
Could your company make it work?
Netflix, Virgin and General Electrical are some of the companies that have announced all you can take paid holiday leave. There are strong potential incentives for both the company and employees. Management can spend less time tracking and coordinating vacation time, and workers can take leave to fit the contours of the workload instead of committing to a vacation blocked out months ahead of time.
Bearing in mind that unlimited holiday pay may only work for some industries rather than others and may have to be managed in various ways. It is also something that can be an added bonus when promoting your companies culture. It’s important to review the type of culture that exists within a business before implementing the policy. Unlimited holiday is a policy that would work in firms where there is a good degree of flexible working already, and where employees are responsible for their own workload.
However, for companies where staff are mostly required to be on site, an unlimited holiday scheme may lead to complications if employees are not present.
To be beneficial for both employers and workers there needs to be a significant amount of trust and autonomy. Employees need to be mindful and respect work priorities and deadlines. Employers will need to be confident that productivity and work output are not damaged if the number of holidays employees take increases.
