Unlimited vacation policies aren’t just for start-ups. One of America’s largest corporations is also taking a more liberal stance on employee time off.
We were first introduced to the concept by Richard Branson last year when he announced the implementation of unlimited leave to a small number of Virgin employees. Now General Motors (GM) have jumped on board. Announcing their new policy of unlimited sick, vacation and personal days for executives and senior professionals band may take.
This “permissive approach” garners the idea employees can take time when they need it, assuming they’re getting their work done and have gotten their manager’s approval.
As a new initiative we are yet to see the effects unlimited leave has on the employee and employer. It has been suggested by leaders such as Branson implementing the unlimited leave policy creates a culture of not only mutual respect between employee and employer but a “humanising” culture within the workplace. He goes on to state giving people the choice to take a day off to attend their sons football match OR the option to work from home allows for more productive working blocks and better life balance.
The question is how will this improve overall job satisfaction and productivity? And how can it all be managed? Somewhere down the line any process or policy needs mediation and management even for something as liberal as unlimited leave.
We must also question; is this a privilege only offered to the C-suite sector and if so how does this then effect the hierarchy culture within a workplace?
Source: CNN Money
