Unlimited PTO – What Do You Think About That?
I have not worked for anyone but myself for well over a decade now, so I am not well versed on benefit trends. Recently, a new hire was telling me that they started their new job with unlimited PTO. (Quite the contrast with the people who go an entire year with no available PTO!)
My reaction immediately split.
The Pros:
It empowers people to do their jobs efficiently and effectively, knowing that if they do so, time is available to them.
It requires a strong degree of clarity in job roles and accountability structures, things that are often lacking in organizations. One would hope an organization offering unlimited PTO would invest in these things. (And you can go ahead and envision the Cons for an organization that does not.)
It keeps everyone, employee and manager alike, focused on outcomes rather than process or hours worked. In the end, it is the results that matter most. (That said, how the work gets done matters too. Results achieved at the expense of colleagues or clients are not really results.)
It sends a message that the organization trusts its employees and respects their need for time off. Simple messages like these can go a long way toward retention, especially while this benefit is not widely available.
There is less motivation for unplanned absences (yes, people use sick time for vacation!), which likely means less disruption when people are out, because they can plan for coverage.
The Cons:
I am working with an organization where there is a lot of peer monitoring of work schedules and time off. That culture would not support an unlimited PTO policy. There is not enough peer trust in place.
Even if an organization started with a degree of trust, unlimited PTO has the potential to create team dynamics around its use, especially when there isn't true understanding of each other's roles (and whether responsibilities are being met).
If job roles are not somewhat "equal" in terms of demands, some people may have real difficulty accessing the PTO, unlimited or not.
If managers do not take time off, they will undermine the intent of the policy. This is a real gap in many organizations. In a 2024 University of Georgia study of nonprofit employees, 74% said their supervisor encouraged them to set work-life boundaries, but only about half said their supervisor actually modeled those boundaries.
Organizations with a lot of client- or customer-facing roles might have more difficulty implementing the policy, especially without sufficient coverage options or policies.
With no accrued time, there is nothing to pay out when someone leaves. For employees, that is a real trade-off compared with a traditional policy.
What the research says
Unlimited PTO gets a lot of attention, but it is less common than you might think. One recent report found that only about 7% of employers offer it. And studies on whether people actually take more time off under these policies are mixed. Some find people take a couple of days more, others a couple of days less. Either way, the difference is small. The policy itself doesn't seem to change much. The culture around it does.
Looking back at my list, most of the cons come down to the same thing: a lack of clarity, accountability, and trust. That makes me think unlimited PTO is a test of organizational health. An organization that is ready for it probably already has a lot going for it. One that isn't might find the policy exposes problems that were there all along.
I am really curious what you think. Would you like this policy, or do you have reservations? Would it work in your organization?
