The Off Topic Topic

[garbon]

This feels like an odd article for the Guardian, although I guess from their US contributors.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/mar/21/unlimited-pto-plan-attract-best-talent-saves-small-businesses-money

An unlimited PTO plan is vital to attract the best talent – and saves small businesses money

Unlimited paid time off? Are you kidding me?" That's what I usually hear when I suggest this type of benefit to my clients. When an employer, particularly a small employer, hears "unlimited" they automatically think that their employees can be paid all year for doing nothing.

Of course that's ridiculous. Unlimited paid time off (PTO) plans are becoming a "top emerging benefit" according to a 2019 study by the insurance firm MetLife and are already a significant part of the benefit offerings for many larger corporations. Some 72% of the 2,675 full-time employees surveyed in the MetLife study expressed interest in receiving unlimited paid time off.

As the economy recovers and people return to the workforce, small businesses will be competing with larger organizations for talent. We will need to offer competitive benefits in order to attract the best talent. And an unlimited PTO plan should be one of those benefits. Why? Because it's not only attractive, but could actually save a small business owner money. Yes, you read right: save money.

But before we get to the savings, let's talk about the appeal.

Employees, particularly younger workers and millennials who make up about half of today's workforce, crave more work/life balance, flexibility and independence. They see that companies such as the electronics firm Sony, marketing software platform HubSpot and accounting firm Grant Thornton offer unlimited PTO plans. These workers are attracted to the idea of being able to choose when and how long their vacations can be. It makes people feel more in control of their lives and it also gives them a very favorable impression of a prospective employer when plans like these are offered. People want these benefits and offering them will help a small business owner attract more and better workers.

And yes, these plans cost less. According to a 2018 study by the HR platform Namely, employees surveyed working at companies with unlimited vacation plans actually took fewer days off on average compared with those working at companies with more restrictive plans. "Depending on how an unlimited PTO policy is put into practice, it often benefits employers more than the employees," Rachel Bolsu wrote on the company's blog.

Of course, better communications may bump up those numbers and we need to make sure our people are aware of the benefits available to them. But there's something psychological going on when an employee has to choose their time off rather than an employer choosing for them. People, by nature, don't want to be missing out or they're concerned that they're taking advantage. It's why a 2010 Center for American Progress study found that a lot of employees believe taking too many days off work would cost them bonuses, promotions and even their jobs.

Another advantage for employers is that, depending on how your plan is constructed, you may not have to pay out for any unused vacation time when you offer unlimited PTO like you would for a traditional use-it-or-lose-it plan. Why? Because how in the world can you even calculate unused vacation when an employee has "unlimited" days available? Some courts have already agreed with this position.

A California court case in 2020 found that employers are exempt from this liability if, for example, their plan "clearly provides that employees' ability to take paid time off is not a form of additional wages for services performed, but perhaps part of the employer's promise to provide a flexible work schedule."

Finally, an unlimited PTO plan doesn't have to apply to everyone. There's nothing stopping a small business from having multiple vacation plans. For example, you can have an unlimited PTO plan for senior managers or people that have worked for your company for a number of years and then a traditional use-it-or-lose-it policy for your other workers. You can design the plan any way you like.

By the second half of 2021 we're going to be back to complaining about how hard it is to find workers. Companies in construction, manufacturing, shipping and warehouse operations are already having these challenges. Small businesses are at a particular disadvantage when it comes to attracting good talent, due to our lack of resources when compared with our larger counterparts.

So don't say "are you kidding me?" when an unlimited PTO plan is suggested. It may be the key benefit you need to win over that valuable employee. And it may also be less expensive than the vacation plan you're currently providing.

So offer something to employees that seems like a benefit but actually plays into psychological fears which will result in them taking less time off...

[Sheilbh]

I see this all the time listed as a benefit for tech companies/start-ups and that article really explains my fear that it sounds good but I think there'd be an internal culture/anxiety about actually taking advantage to have more than an old fashioned enforced entitlement.

[Grey Fox]

That's a very American point of view of PTO.

[DGuller]

In my work, the last few weeks of December are the time when most people "burn off" their PTO, so it makes sense that unlimited PTO works the way it does.  I think the problem is two-fold:  Americans don't really take long vacations (anything over a week is a real stretch), and Americans don't take days off just to get away from work for a couple of days.

[merithyn]

In my work, the last few weeks of December are the time when most people "burn off" their PTO, so it makes sense that unlimited PTO works the way it does.  I think the problem is two-fold:  Americans don't really take long vacations (anything over a week is a real stretch), and Americans don't take days off just to get away from work for a couple of days.

I'm unAmerican.

[Sheilbh]

In my work, the last few weeks of December are the time when most people "burn off" their PTO, so it makes sense that unlimited PTO works the way it does.  I think the problem is two-fold:  Americans don't really take long vacations (anything over a week is a real stretch), and Americans don't take days off just to get away from work for a couple of days.

I've considered a few jobs in the US or routes to work in the US. But in a very stereotypically European way, the attitude to holidays is the single biggest obstacle/fear

[Habbaku]

In my work, the last few weeks of December are the time when most people "burn off" their PTO, so it makes sense that unlimited PTO works the way it does.  I think the problem is two-fold:  Americans don't really take long vacations (anything over a week is a real stretch), and Americans don't take days off just to get away from work for a couple of days.

I'm unAmerican.

Same, but DG is correct. I can't recall many of my co-workers in any of my jobs ever taking as many days off in a row as I enjoyed doing.

My typical vacations are ~12-14 days off in a row, but I also rarely took random workdays off.

[Grey Fox]

In my work, the last few weeks of December are the time when most people "burn off" their PTO, so it makes sense that unlimited PTO works the way it does.  I think the problem is two-fold:  Americans don't really take long vacations (anything over a week is a real stretch), and Americans don't take days off just to get away from work for a couple of days.

I've considered a few jobs in the US or routes to work in the US. But in a very stereotypically European way, the attitude to holidays is the single biggest obstacle/fear

It's a warranted fear. Don't do it.

[Barrister]

I take my 5 weeks of holidays off in a big block every year in August. 

[Sheilbh]

I take my 5 weeks of holidays off in a big block every year in August. 

An admirable commitment to Canada's French heritage

[celedhring]

No extra days for Christmas, Barrister?

Anyway, it's been 20+ years since I last held salaried employment. Back then I took a few weeks in the summer and then filled out Christmas (I honestly can't remember how much paid holidays I had  )

[garbon]

In my work, the last few weeks of December are the time when most people "burn off" their PTO, so it makes sense that unlimited PTO works the way it does.  I think the problem is two-fold:  Americans don't really take long vacations (anything over a week is a real stretch), and Americans don't take days off just to get away from work for a couple of days.

I'm unAmerican.

Same, but DG is correct. I can't recall many of my co-workers in any of my jobs ever taking as many days off in a row as I enjoyed doing.

My typical vacations are ~12-14 days off in a row, but I also rarely took random workdays off.

I hate random days off. Ends up just adding a lot of pressure before you are off / as just a day, co-workers aren't always so diligent in covering for you. Once you hit at least a week off, they realize they can't just wait until your return.

[garbon]

In my work, the last few weeks of December are the time when most people "burn off" their PTO, so it makes sense that unlimited PTO works the way it does.  I think the problem is two-fold:  Americans don't really take long vacations (anything over a week is a real stretch), and Americans don't take days off just to get away from work for a couple of days.

Hard to take long periods off when you aren't given the time.

[Barrister]

No extra days for Christmas, Barrister?

Anyway, it's been 20+ years since I last held salaried employment. Back then I took a few weeks in the summer and then filled out Christmas (I honestly can't remember how much paid holidays I had  )

Government realized nothing was getting done over Christmas anyways, so they just shut down between the 25th and the 1st.

[Sheilbh]

I hate random days off. Ends up just adding a lot of pressure before you are off / as just a day, co-workers aren't always so diligent in covering for you. Once you hit at least a week off, they realize they can't just wait until your return.

Random days are only good if it's a long weekend

I don't fully know how but I actually rarely take off all my holiday and normally roll some of it over to the next year, but I also manage to spread it out in such a way that colleagues normally comment on how much holiday I take