And this argument really resonates:
In Freedom, Inc. Gordon Forward of Chaparral Steel talks of the danger of ”managing for the 3%.” In a large enough organization, there might be a couple of people who would take two or three months’ vacation–but if a vacation policy is the only thing holding them back from that, they’re probably “vacationing” at their desks anyway. And so the policy is concealing the problem with that “3%,” not eliminating it.This relates to the idea that, if you're hiring correctly, then you won't have abuse. It makes me fear that I might have hired the wrong people.
But just recently I met a guy who actually works at a company where they have unlimited vacation. He pointed out a critical factor that I completely overlooked: company culture.
In his company, everyone pressures everyone else not to take vacation. If you ask for a block of 2 weeks off, they'd laugh at you. You'd have to explain it to a lot of people, because it would keep coming up. Even a short vacation doesn't go unnoticed. "Must be nice to have a vacation. What, not enough to do?" It's public humiliation. The company culture doesn't allow for violations.
My new friend finds that he takes less than 2 weeks off in total every year.
At my company, many people take 2 week blocks off every year. (In fact, it's a requirement for systems security.) You get 3 or 4 weeks, and if you don't use it all, you carry it over and have additional time the next year. It becomes your right to use it. This seems normal to me, because that's what I've always had.
Would the social pressure work in my company? On the whole, no way. It's too big, and it's tough to change the culture.
On the other hand, there's frequently pressure to work long hours. It usually emerges as joking jabs -- "Wow, you're leaving at 4:50? I mean, before 5???" -- but underlying it is the general expectation that people work long hours at investment banks. That starts with the bankers and trickles down.
So, in my group, if we had an unlimited vacation policy, it might very well turn into a vacation deprivation policy.
In retrospect, it's almost surprising that more companies don't go to unlimited vacation.
