How Does Unlimited PTO Actually Work?

Unlimited PTO sounds like a win for employees. Who wouldn't want to have as much time off available as possible?

Workers are clearly in favor of unlimited PTO plans. A poll from Fishbowl by Glassdoor indicated that workers prefer them, giving them a rating of 4.55 out of 5, as opposed to the limited programs which received a 4.12 rating. Yet in many companies, employees actually tend to take less time off with unlimited programs than traditional ones. For example, Namely found that employees took an average of 13 days of PTO annually when they had unlimited PTO, as opposed to 15 days a year on limited plans. While not a universal phenomenon, it's common enough to prompt the question: what's going on here, and what's the best way to navigate an unlimited PTO policy at work?

Fears and Pitfalls

If there's a catch to unlimited PTO, it's the concern about its ambiguity. Without the same structures in place for approving their time off, workers may feel reluctant to take a vacation for fear of how it will be perceived by their employer.

They may even worry that the offering of unlimited PTO is some kind of trap – a sting from management offered to reveal who's committed and who isn't (or at least who's willing to keep up appearances). More cynical employees may assume – perhaps even rightly – that an offering of unlimited PTO is designed to guilt them into using fewer vacation days.

Whether such implications were intended by management or not, workers aren't wrong to be concerned. After all, the term “unlimited” PTO must be at least something of a misnomer. If employees start taking three weeks of every month off, there's bound to be a problem before long.

Identifying the Objectives

Unlimited PTO is a move from a rule-based strictly on measurable actions (number of days off) to a rule based on enabling a specific intent (even if execution looks different from person to person). In order to do the second, it's important to know what the intent is in the first place.

Whether you're a rank-and-file employee or in a leadership position, inquire about the goals that prompted the adoption of unlimited PTO. Read the policy itself and if possible, have a conversation with those who implemented it. Knowing what they hope the policy will achieve will help you understand what will be seen as an appropriate application.

Following are a few examples of reasons that might be cited for instituting unlimited PTO:

• Reducing or increasing total vacation time taken by employees
• Encouraging employees to use PTO instead of keeping it for a payout or emergency
• Reducing costs and energy used to track and approve PTO
• Reducing conflict and legal entanglements regarding the difference between vacation and sick pay
• Removing the frustrations involved in judging which reasons for time off are worthwhile
• Making sure employees are comfortable staying home from work when sick

If they say, for example, that they used to offer two weeks of paid time off but found that no one was using it all because it was too difficult to get it approved, that might be a guideline for about how many days to take as a starting point, and what not to emphasize (a strict approval process) when arranging days off.

Advice for Employees and Managers

With the goals of your program in mind, here are a few more thoughts about how best to navigate an unlimited PTO program.

1) Be clear about job responsibilities and how success is measured

In order for unlimited PTO programs to work, your workplace needs a culture that has moved past measuring hours or days at work in favor of measuring the fulfillment of one's responsibilities.

If there's clear agreement about the tasks an employee is supposed to accomplish and what they're being paid for doing so, the time it takes – or whether they're around at a particular moment – become secondary, and a major point of friction for unlimited PTO is removed. Make sure everyone is clear about job responsibilities and how they're measured, and if anyone raises an issue about how long an employee does or doesn't spend at work, steer their focus back to these points.

These attitudes are helpful not only when it comes to scheduling vacation time, but for the time needed to take care of ordinary eventualities (like a trip to the dentist or picking up a friend from the airport) that might be handled during the course of a normal workday.

2) Don't add responsibilities in response to efficiency

As stated in point 1, an unlimited PTO plan remains sensible if work outcomes – not time spent – are the measure of success, allowing coworkers to step away for a while when their work is sufficiently tended to. This doesn't work if you give or accept new responsibilities in response to the observation that work is being completed with time to spare (unless it's mutually desirable and comes with an increase in pay).

Instead, support your coworkers and yourself in maintaining the attitude that finishing work in a timely manner is neutral or desirable and that the natural consequence of a shortened workweek or an early sign-off for the day are reasonable uses of the time off policy. Whatever you do, avoid reinforcing the stigma that long hours at the office are synonymous with a job well done.

3) Set or adopt some ground rules

There's more to a time off policy than the number of days allotted. Understand the policy and anything it says regarding how time off is supposed to be approved or communicated. Even if these details aren't spelled out, it's a good idea to decide how you'll handle them and be consistent about it. This will help reinforce the normalcy of your approach and show that time off doesn't indicate a lack of responsibility on your part.

Even if there's no formal approval process, decide roughly how much time you feel you can reasonably step away while still fulfilling your responsibilities, and what kinds of circumstances merit a break for you personally. If you're someone who dislikes ambiguity, you could also count your number of days off and try to stay within a range, or give yourself some other structure for self-governing.

Then be consistent about how you signal your time off. Depending on the culture of your company, you may find it prudent to put your days off on a communal calendar a few days in advance when possible or set up an out-of-office message to let others know when you plan to return.

4) Use examples

If you're still not sure how best to handle the situation, it never hurts to follow an example. Look to established coworkers, your manager, or other successful departments and pattern your implementation of unlimited PTO after theirs. While every situation and position differs, the odds are good that this is a good place to start.

And especially if you're in management yourself, don't forget that others may be looking to you for the same cues. Approach time off in a way that you'd like to see your team and coworkers approach it, too, and remember that how you act and support others in their own time off decisions creates an environment shared – and hopefully enjoyed – by the whole team. Including you.

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