Is Offering Unlimited Paid Time Off Right for Your Company? A Top 5 Pro and Con Review

Kaitlyn Hammond — February 3, 2017

Offering employees perks is no new concept. Many companies offer great benefits, 401k options, and discounts on everyday purchases through employee rewards programs. For many companies offering perks to employees has been a major selling point when they aim to recruit some of the best talent. But what about offering employees the perk of unlimited paid time off? While this may sound crazy to some, many companies are starting to offer this amazing benefit. But at what cost? In this post we will review 5 Pros and Cons of offering employees unlimited paid time off

1. Pro: Morale Boost

Boosting and maintaining morale is one challenge that every employer faces. Offering an incentive of essentially “unlimited” vacation time at an employee’s disposal is a major draw of talent who may be swayed by other companies offering great benefits packages. Offering and supplying unlimited paid time off is an instant morale boost.

• Con: Employees may take advantage. While employees would “assume” people would follow the norm of 2-3 weeks off a year, plus a given day here or there, they must be ready to have practices in place if an employee decides unlimited time off means “unlimited.”

2. Pro: No Rush to Take Unused Time

We have all been there. End of year or end of cycle where paid time off is available to be used and we are rushed to use that time before it gets cashed out or blocked by accrual caps. By offering unlimited paid time off, employees are less likely to bank and dump that time. They may spread the time out, take smaller chunks of time off, and use the time when things come up, rather than use it at the worst time or because they were forced to.

• Con: No rush to come back. One downside is that once the employee’s foot is out the door, they may be no rush to get that foot back inside. One major risk is some employees may take advantage of this policy or skip out of the office for larger chunks of time. Some employees may come and go so often that it starts to impact their work and those who rely on them.

3. Pro: Monitoring Gets Easier

Human Resources (HR) costs and managing of employee’s time off can be daunting, tricky, and costly all in itself. Watching employees’ time so they don’t abuse it comes at a price. With unlimited time, HR doesn’t have keep track of how much personal time, sick time, accrued time, etc. so closely. Some numbers suggest that an unlimited vacation time policy saved companies over 50 hours a year in administrative time.

• Con: Implementation is tricky. For those employees who have been with a company before an unlimited time off policy goes into effect may be impacted by the banked hours they were able to keep. For many “old timers” who leave they may want to cash out their hours for cash. Those folks would need to be considered if “paid time off” became non-monetized in value.

4. Pro: Less Employee Overhead

Consider all the overhead of housing employees throughout the year and the cost associated with each employee being in the office each and every day. By offering unlimited paid time off, employees may become more efficient, happier, and do not waste as much time in the office because they are tied to a “schedule.” By allowing employees to go when they need, they reduce wasted time, energy, and overall overhead costs.

• Con: Lack of face time. Employees that are out of the office tend to not be as visible. Therefore, offering unlimited paid time may be a dip in important face time with their colleagues and business partners. If companies rely on face time and presence, this option may put a damper on the party.

5. It Sounds & Looks Good

How good does “unlimited paid time off” sound? It sounds like a perk nobody could pass up, like freedom for employees, and like it is almost too good to be true. Bragging about this option would make a company sound great to work for and seem very forward thinking.

• Con: Performance can be bad. One downside with giving employees complete freedom is that for those that may take advantage, could leave a company in worse shape. Performance could go down, which may ultimately impact the overall strength of the company. Having one bad apple may ruin it for the whole barrel.

While there are many pros to offering unlimited paid time off for employees, companies must also think of the other side of the coin. By offering employees such an amazing perk, a company could be positioned to increase productivity, morale, and overall appearances. However that can also be the exact opposite if not implemented correctly. By understanding the above 5 pros and cons, companies can now consider if this is a right move to make at the current time. By going in this direction, the innovative approach to employee benefits could also impact the company’s interests.

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