Cheria is a culture and innovation architect, and the VP of Culture at Known, a fast-growing marketing firm.
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As a biased fan of unlimited paid time off, I can’t help but chuckle at headlines like, “Unlimited PTO sounds great on paper, but the reality could mean you never take a vacation” or “Why unlimited vacation days is a scam” or, my personal favorite, “For millennials, unlimited vacation isn’t always a perk.”
This geriatric Millennial begs to differ, and I’m not alone. A recent study reported that 82% of employees who have unlimited PTO feel positive about their policy and reported the best rates of work-life balance compared to those with limited PTO policies. According to LinkedIn’s 2022 Global Talent Trends, work-life balance is the No. 1 priority for job seekers. So why all the criticism of unlimited vacation?
Unlimited vacation policies are mostly criticized because people who work for companies with the perk often take less vacation than those with limited vacation. One reason might be that companies that offer unlimited vacation are among the most competitive and innovative companies out there. Their aim is to hire the brightest talent, and unlimited vacation is a key benefit. But when you hire high performers and people who love what they do, they often have a harder time stepping away. The policy is not the problem.
Truth be told, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for PTO policies, and I’m not here to debate the efficacy of unlimited vacation.
Economic Policy Institute analyst Adewale Maye called the U.S. the “no vacation nation.” A TurnKey survey of 2,000 respondents found that of those surveyed, 54% of employees reported feeling guilty for taking a vacation, and 70% checked into work while on vacation. Adding insult to injury, those with limited vacation policies leave hundreds of millions of unused vacation days on the table every year.
This is not an issue with vacation policy—this is a problem of psychological safety.
Psychological safety creates working environments that remove the fear of being marginalized, embarrassed or punished and instead empower people, making them feel welcomed and included as vital contributors to their organization. That safety must exist when you show up in the office, log into a zoom call or log off for a week-long road trip, spa day or quick jaunt to Vegas. Our counterparts in some of the wealthiest nations have no problem going on vacation, so why should we? It is on all of us to change that.
Companies that care about their employees’ well-being and offer generous policies for time off (whether limited or unlimited) need a PTO manifesto that declares once and for all why employees must take time off. Competitive PTO packages are more than a way to lure in top talent. They make business sense, especially for companies prioritizing innovation. It is our job to build out scopes of work and set expectations for productivity. It’s our employees’ jobs to then do good work and take care of themselves so they can do more good work.
So, on behalf of every company that cares about their employees’ well-being and on behalf of every organization that wants its employees to actually use their vacation time, I propose this manifesto.
The PTO Manifesto
As leaders of our organizations, we believe the following:
Innovation is born from play. Desk-chained solutioning threatens transformation.
Time away from work grants us time for play, and as Albert Einstein once said, “Play is the highest form of research.” When we play, we learn, explore and experiment with activities that unlock new potential and exercise agility of body and mind. Plus, it can help build community while helping us stay sharp.
Creative genius emerges with time to daydream. Unrelenting reaction to perpetual demands breeds the status quo.
Research shows time and again that boredom and space to daydream spurs creativity. It’s not always comfortable at first. You close your laptop, silence your phone, turn off the TV and the first feeling is usually restlessness. But if you channel that energy, not only will creativity emerge, but so will new ideas and solutions you couldn’t see before.
Well-being is a key indicator of success. Burnout is failure.
Ironically, people who appear to be high performers often burn out faster than lower performers, and that’s a liability to the business. We each must take responsibility for our own well-being—sadly, it’s a one-person job. Employers want to invest in your well-being because the most talented people are also the most resilient, and they become so by making recovery a lifestyle practice.
Clarity comes when we clear space to see the good. Lack of perspective shrinks vision.
When we take time to see good in the world, and participate by giving back (i.e., volunteering, helping someone, etc.), we beckon meaning into our lives and surface our personal purpose. Then, we see more clearly what is before us and find it easier to focus our energy on higher things. That shift in perspective can help us reframe our toughest challenges and spark our imaginations.
Autonomy is the gift of empowerment. Guilt and fear indicate toxicity.
We generally consider policies as guidelines for what you can’t do, when they should be seen as useful boundaries within which you’re fully empowered to make decisions, take calculated risks, and test and learn. When it comes to vacation policy, exercise the autonomy your policy grants you freely, and remember it exists to hold the business accountable just as much as it holds its employees accountable. Take your time, guilt-free.
If you’re a business leader who offers generous PTO benefits, consider subscribing to this manifesto or making your own. Use it, share it with your employees and stand by it. Let it signal to your employees that you fundamentally believe time is our most precious commodity and should be spent on who you love, what you love and the work you love. Then maybe, just maybe, we’ll change our entire culture, take time off guilt-free and our businesses will be better for it.
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