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For me it was super stressful and made it really hard to plan. What I did was decide how much leave I wanted if this were a "traditional" system, discussed that

For me it was super stressful and made it really hard to plan. What I did was decide how much leave I wanted if this were a "traditional" system, discussed that with my manager informally (he still wouldn't give me a straight answer but I got to a number that he seemed to be okay with), and tracked the vacation and sick time myself in a spreadsheet. One thing I did notice is that it seemed very hard to get more vacation as a more senior employee. I think it's less about flexibility for the employee and more so they don't have to keep everyone's unused vacation on the balance sheet and in the bank. Also they don't have to pay out that unused vacation when you leave, so if you're tracking it yourself, try not to "accrue" a lot of vacation. The reality of "unlimited vacation" means you will probably take around the same amount as someone at a traditional setup, but it will be more frequent shorter vacations and you're less likely to take like a month off for a big summer trip. I've also seen this system (perhaps inadvertently) take advantage of people with workaholic tendencies or people that tend to feel a lot of peer pressure to support the team, and "unlimited vacation" can mean "no vacation" for some folks.

mrguyorama 9y ago
"Unlimited" vacation without requiring a minimum is a negative thing. It means that instead of "earning"/accruing vacation and spending it how you want, you have to ask permission for every little use. Instead of the company owing you your fair vacation use, they now have an avenue to discourage vacation use and encourage a culture of limited vacation use. If a company truly cared about their employees, they could always just double the accrual rate of paid time off.
- borplk 9y ago
  bingo! "unlimited vacation" is a scam.
supreme_sublime 9y ago
We kind of have "unlimited" vacation, but also a number that we are allowed. If we go over that I think the manager would have to get extra approval for it. What you describe is essentially how it has been for me. I do not have a significant other, or family and feel a lot of responsibility to help my team. Though the past couple of years my manager had heavily encouraged me to take vacation. So near the end of the year I would take off every Friday until the end of the year and take off the week between Christmas and New Years. Stuff like that. Be weary of unlimited vacation if you're anything like me.

mrguyorama 9y ago

"Unlimited" vacation without requiring a minimum is a negative thing. It means that instead of "earning"/accruing vacation and spending it how you want, you have to ask permission for every little use. Instead of the company owing you your fair vacation use, they now have an avenue to discourage vacation use and encourage a culture of limited vacation use. If a company truly cared about their employees, they could always just double the accrual rate of paid time off.

borplk 9y ago
bingo! "unlimited vacation" is a scam.

supreme_sublime 9y ago

We kind of have "unlimited" vacation, but also a number that we are allowed. If we go over that I think the manager would have to get extra approval for it. What you describe is essentially how it has been for me. I do not have a significant other, or family and feel a lot of responsibility to help my team. Though the past couple of years my manager had heavily encouraged me to take vacation. So near the end of the year I would take off every Friday until the end of the year and take off the week between Christmas and New Years. Stuff like that. Be weary of unlimited vacation if you're anything like me.