🏖️ unlimited pto: the policy that backfired

when good intentions lead to less vacations

March 04, 2025

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Happy Tuesday HR friends!👋

Today we’re pondering unlimited PTO🧠 

Have employees seen through the facade? Can it ever truly work? Does it just lead to envy and frustration? Is this another “perk” that will go the way of the dodo? Let’s explore.

We’ll be in touch with more content to help you create a happier workplace, later this week !✨💪

In Today’s Edition

🍹 The Unlimited PTO Paradox


🛋️ The Break Room: Does Unlimited PTO Ever Work?


📚 Human Readsources: Meta executives get raises while workers' pay shrinks, AI reshaping work but won't replace humans, Google cuts HR and Cloud jobs for AI focus.


When unlimited actually translates to less…

Summer Time GIF by Merge Mansion

I’ll be in the office end of December for the holiday party. Maybe.

Did you know that employees with unlimited PTO actually take 13% fewer days off per year? The numbers paint a paradoxical picture of a benefit that seems generous on paper but often creates anxiety and confusion in practice.


This disconnect isn't just a minor workplace irritant - it represents a fundamental misalignment between corporate intentions and human psychology.


For HR pros 👋, this creates a unique challenge: we're tasked with implementing and championing a policy that, despite its appealing premise, often works against the very cultural and wellness goals it's meant to support.


The time has come to reimagine unlimited PTO not as a standalone perk, but as part of a broader conversation about trust, boundaries, and workplace culture.

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🍹 The Unlimited PTO Paradox


Unlimited PTO sounds amazing on paper - it's a recruiting goldmine and seems like the perfect way to promote work-life balance. But it's actually becoming one of HR's most complicated benefits to manage.


What started as a trendy Silicon Valley perk has evolved into a cautionary tale of unintended consequences, with companies like Kickstarter and IBM rolling back their unlimited policies.


The numbers tell a concerning story. Research shows employees with unlimited PTO take 13% fewer days off compared to those with traditional policies.


Why? Without clear guidelines, workers feel guilty about taking time off and struggle to gauge what's "acceptable." Plus, the policy often creates an invisible pressure to prove dedication by taking minimal vacation.


The good news? We can fix this.


Start by setting minimum vacation requirements (yes, actually require people to take time off). Create clear guidelines about expected time-off ranges - think "we expect most people to take 20-30 days annually." And most importantly, get your leadership team to model the behavior by actually taking vacations themselves.


Because let's be honest - no one's going to feel comfortable logging off if their boss never does.


🔗 Relevant links

👀 TLDR

Unlimited PTO sounds dreamy but often backfires - employees actually take LESS time off (yikes😬). The fix? Clear minimums, actual tracking, and leaders who walk the walk. Let's make "unlimited" actually mean something. 🎯

⚡ Takeaway and Try

  1. 🌴 Institute a "Vacation Visibility Program" where leadership publicly shares their upcoming PTO plans and vacation stories during team meetings. This models healthy work-life balance from the top down. Create a digital dashboard tracking leadership PTO usage and share quarterly summaries with all employees. Measure changes in company-wide PTO utilization rates and employee burnout scores.

  2. 🎯 Launch a "PTO Champion" initiative where each department designates a leader responsible for encouraging time off and ensuring coverage plans. This creates accountability for healthy vacation culture. Provide champions with training on coverage planning and communication templates. Track department-specific PTO usage rates and team productivity metrics.

  3. 📊 Implement a quarterly "Rest & Reset Survey" measuring employee perceptions of vacation culture, barriers to taking time off, and leadership support. This identifies systemic issues preventing PTO usage. Create action plans addressing top barriers and share progress transparently. Monitor trends in survey scores and correlation with retention rates.

  4. 🗓️ Develop a "Planned Absence Protocol" requiring leaders to schedule at least one full week of vacation per quarter, six months in advance. This normalizes extended breaks and enables better coverage planning. Build coverage plans into regular workflow discussions. Track leadership compliance rates and team member confidence in taking extended breaks.

  5. 💡 Create a "Vacation Success Stories" communication campaign highlighting leaders and teams who effectively manage extended breaks. This shares best practices and celebrates healthy PTO usage. Feature stories in company newsletters and team meetings. Measure changes in PTO request patterns and employee engagement scores following each story.


📚 Human Readsources

🏢 Meta Boosts Executive Pay While Staff Benefits Shrink (HR Brew) - Meta executives get bigger bonuses while employee compensation shrinks.


⚖️ AI Reshaping Work: Jobs Lost, Opportunities Gained (HR Brew) - AI reshaping workplace roles while creating new job opportunities.


📊 Google Slashes HR and Cloud Jobs for AI Push (The HR Digest) - Google cuts HR and Cloud jobs, pivots to AI investment


Thanks for reading to the end and we hope today’s edition sparked some new ideas for your workplace! 🧠

We know you’re super busy and really appreciate you letting us into your inbox a few times a week. 😀

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