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My last two companies have offered or will shortly offer this benefit. I read the Netflix benefits deck a while ago and mention it frequently in conversations w

My last two companies have offered or will shortly offer this benefit. I read the Netflix benefits deck a while ago and mention it frequently in conversations with colleagues. One benefit to this policy that goes unmentioned is the decrease in friction in tracking PTO. In previous companies, I've had to find a PTO form, fill it out, submit to manager for signature, submit that to Payroll/HR for tracking and then finally take the time off. Payroll/HR has had to submit this number to ADP who has had to track it on my paystubbs. My manager has had to track my vacation and make sure I wasn't taking off without filling out the forms. When I left, we had to reconcile PTO banked but not taken and pay that out. With an "unlimited" vacation policy, all that friction, or at least most of it is gone. The one part about PTO I strongly dislike is getting "approval." If PTO is offered as part of your job, you shouldn't need approval to take it. Notice, yes, sure. Letting your team know you will be out is just good professional ethics and behavior. But requiring your manager to "approve" has always bothered me.

Namrog84 13y ago
I was never a huge fan of taking full days off weeks in advance. I've always preferred half days off. Some places won't always let you do this but my last job of 5 years. Let me go home on a 1 minute notice or email my boss in the morning that'd I'd be taking a half day off. Coming in late or not at all. This was discussed with him beforehand and he did the same with his boss. I was only give about 2-3 weeks total a year and I was always ahead on my work and never did it during busier crunch like times. I can't imagine having to fill out that kind of paperwork to take time off. That just sounds miserable. Where I worked agreed with your statement. It's your assigned pto. You can take it anytime you want because that's what it's their for. Obviously everyone was ethical and respectful of timing. But it was a very relaxed and low stress work environment with the ideal that the work will be done when it gets done.
smm2000 13y ago
In two companies I worked at it was completely automated. You go to some web page, change status and click Submit. Your manager gets email (no signing/confirmation required) and that's it - no manual steps. You can see how much vacation time left on the same web page.

Namrog84 13y ago

I was never a huge fan of taking full days off weeks in advance. I've always preferred half days off. Some places won't always let you do this but my last job of 5 years. Let me go home on a 1 minute notice or email my boss in the morning that'd I'd be taking a half day off. Coming in late or not at all. This was discussed with him beforehand and he did the same with his boss. I was only give about 2-3 weeks total a year and I was always ahead on my work and never did it during busier crunch like times. I can't imagine having to fill out that kind of paperwork to take time off. That just sounds miserable. Where I worked agreed with your statement. It's your assigned pto. You can take it anytime you want because that's what it's their for. Obviously everyone was ethical and respectful of timing. But it was a very relaxed and low stress work environment with the ideal that the work will be done when it gets done.

smm2000 13y ago

In two companies I worked at it was completely automated. You go to some web page, change status and click Submit. Your manager gets email (no signing/confirmation required) and that's it - no manual steps. You can see how much vacation time left on the same web page.