3 ms·

That only works if you are taking more vacation than you were before

marssaxman 4y ago
It works because I take as much vacation as I feel inclined to, and I don't have to care how many days that is. I get what I want, so what difference does it make whether that's more or less? If you have more of a maximizing attitude about your benefits, I suppose you might have a harder time enjoying an "unlimited PTO" policy, because it's not really possible to know whether you've squeezed all the juice out of it.
- armitron 4y ago
  I'd rather have a guaranteed benefit (that, ideally, carries over from year to year and is fully paid out when I leave the company) than the gray area that you're describing which in practice is nothing more than the company being exploitative and relying on psychological dark patterns to trick gullible employees. In my previous job, I quit with three months of unused vacation time, and I received three months of salary fully paid out. Not possible with "unlimited PTO". Furthermore, try taking 2+ months of vacation in a year and see how quickly you're called to have a meeting with the Bobs.
  - marssaxman 4y ago
    > I'd rather have a guaranteed benefit Well, that's fine, if that's what works for you; I hope you continue to have that option for years to come. > relying on psychological dark patterns to trick gullible employees. That's a little harsh, don't you think? I've just explained why unlimited PTO actually is the policy I prefer, the one which suits my needs - but you seem to be dismissing the possibility that people like me could exist. I'm not surprised that you see the PTO benefit primarily in terms of its cash value, if you managed to accumulate three months of unused vacation; presumably you don't take many breaks. For my part, I generally find lack of time to be a more pressing obstacle to the things I want in life than lack of money, so I don't care whether PTO has any cash value at all; what I want is flexibility. > Furthermore, try taking 2+ months of vacation in a year and see how quickly you're called to have a meeting with the Bobs. I suppose it would depend on the conversations I had with my manager before making those plans. I did once take a solid month off, to go tour Morocco. It was a great experience. It wasn't actually company policy to offer that much time off, but I worked it out with my boss, and it was fine.

It works because I take as much vacation as I feel inclined to, and I don't have to care how many days that is. I get what I want, so what difference does it make whether that's more or less? If you have more of a maximizing attitude about your benefits, I suppose you might have a harder time enjoying an "unlimited PTO" policy, because it's not really possible to know whether you've squeezed all the juice out of it.

armitron 4y ago
I'd rather have a guaranteed benefit (that, ideally, carries over from year to year and is fully paid out when I leave the company) than the gray area that you're describing which in practice is nothing more than the company being exploitative and relying on psychological dark patterns to trick gullible employees. In my previous job, I quit with three months of unused vacation time, and I received three months of salary fully paid out. Not possible with "unlimited PTO". Furthermore, try taking 2+ months of vacation in a year and see how quickly you're called to have a meeting with the Bobs.
- marssaxman 4y ago
  > I'd rather have a guaranteed benefit Well, that's fine, if that's what works for you; I hope you continue to have that option for years to come. > relying on psychological dark patterns to trick gullible employees. That's a little harsh, don't you think? I've just explained why unlimited PTO actually is the policy I prefer, the one which suits my needs - but you seem to be dismissing the possibility that people like me could exist. I'm not surprised that you see the PTO benefit primarily in terms of its cash value, if you managed to accumulate three months of unused vacation; presumably you don't take many breaks. For my part, I generally find lack of time to be a more pressing obstacle to the things I want in life than lack of money, so I don't care whether PTO has any cash value at all; what I want is flexibility. > Furthermore, try taking 2+ months of vacation in a year and see how quickly you're called to have a meeting with the Bobs. I suppose it would depend on the conversations I had with my manager before making those plans. I did once take a solid month off, to go tour Morocco. It was a great experience. It wasn't actually company policy to offer that much time off, but I worked it out with my boss, and it was fine.