Unlimited PTO: The Complete Guide
The table of contents below enumerates the topics covered in the guide to unlimited PTO; you can use the links in the table to skip to specific sections.
Table Of Contents
- What Is Unlimited PTO & How Does Unlimited PTO Work?
- Unlimited PTO Policy Examples & Templates
- Unlimited PTO Pros & Cons: The Full Analysis
- Alternative PTO Programs
- 97 Companies With Unlimited PTO
- Unlimited PTO Statistics
- Unlimited PTO Is A Trap: Do This Instead
The advent of unlimited PTO policy represents a revolution in employers’ approach to structuring work. Throughout the 20th century, most employees were tied to a rigid five-day-per-week work schedule and no more than two weeks of annual vacation leave.
The result was often unnecessary stress for employees, as they attempted to juggle personal tasks that needed to be done during workweek hours and find time for their families. Because PTO was so limited and covered all leave other than personal sick leave, workers often used up their vacation time on staying home with a sick child, attending an out-of-town funeral, visiting a relative in the hospital, or other activities that didn’t provide opportunity to relax and destress.
By the early 2000s, many employers were beginning to recognize that most workers were overburdened with stress, and they started looking for ways to lighten the load. It started in the tech industry, with perks like free on-site cafeterias, on-site daycare centers, ping pong tables, dog-friendly workplaces, and other innovations. These developments on their own began to “loosen the tie” in tech workplaces, and over time, as competition for talent heated up, someone came up with the idea for unlimited PTO. By 2013, unlimited PTO was becoming a more common benefit for workers in the tech industry—but it was still virtually unknown elsewhere.
Although unlimited PTO continued to steadily grow in popularity throughout the 2010s, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have been the catalyst for the more recent explosive growth in adoption of unlimited PTO policies. The pandemic forced employers and employees alike to reevaluate the way we work and what constitutes a healthy work/life balance. Employers were surprised to see that, after workers adjusted to remote work, productivity not only remained high—it actually increased. Likewise, many workers were surprised to find out how much they preferred working remotely—and how much more time it freed up for their personal lives.
As the world attempted to get back to business as usual following the shock of the pandemic, the demand for talent—and many workers’ determination to maintain the more humane work/life balance they had become accustomed to while working remotely—combined to popularize unlimited PTO as both an incentive for recruitment and a means of offering employees the work/life balance they were demanding. That brings us to today, with an ever-growing number of organizations moving to the unlimited PTO policy model.
While unlimited PTO continues to grow in popularity, many people are still unfamiliar with how the policy works. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of what unlimited PTO is, how it works, the pros and cons of the policy model, examples of policy, and more.
What Is Unlimited PTO & How Does Unlimited PTO Work?
Unlimited PTO means “unlimited paid time off.”
The idea behind unlimited PTO policies is that they offer employees ultimate flexibility to take off as much time as they need or want (within reason). Many companies have adopted the policy to promote a culture of trust and empowerment—to communicate to employees that they are seen as responsible adults who can manage their own time effectively and that their employer is interested in helping them maintain a good work/life balance.
In theory, unlimited PTO allows employees to determine their own schedules and settle on the work/life balance that best suits their individual needs. But is that how it works in the real world?
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What Is Unlimited PTO & How Does Unlimited PTO Work?
Unlimited PTO Policy Examples & Templates
Many companies have adopted unlimited PTO (paid time off) policies in recent years and the trend is growing, as more organizations consider switching to an unlimited PTO policy to attract talent.
But because unlimited PTO is such a drastic departure from traditional PTO policy, it’s helpful to look at unlimited PTO policy examples for guidance—and to avoid potential pitfalls. For these reasons, I’ve put together an unlimited PTO policy template and linked to several others. I’ve also provided unlimited PTO/vacation policy examples from several companies, to show how unlimited PTO policies can work.
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Unlimited PTO Policy Examples & Templates
Unlimited PTO Pros & Cons: The Full Analysis
Whatever its drawbacks may be, the idea of unlimited PTO has paved the way for a new way of thinking about how work should be and how it should fit into our lives. But it does have potential downsides—especially if the policy is not carefully drafted.
In this chapter I take a closer look at unlimited PTO policy pros and cons for employees, and the pros and cons of unlimited PTO for employers. I also answer a few questions: Is unlimited PTO a good thing? Is unlimited PTO really unlimited? And how can organizations achieve the pros without the cons of an unlimited PTO policy?
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Unlimited PTO Pros & Cons: The Full Analysis
Alternative PTO Programs
In organizations where unlimited PTO is not a good fit—or the company wants to avoid the downsides of unlimited PTO—there are alternatives that meet the goals of helping employees achieve work/life balance while avoiding the disadvantages of unlimited PTO:
- Essential PTO
- Minimum PTO
- Flexible PTO
These alternatives – and more – are all a vast improvement over the old model of two weeks off per year—and I’ve compiled a list of them for your consideration.
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97 Companies With Unlimited PTO
I scoured the digital earth to find every unlimited PTO company that publicly shares their vacation policy. Why?Because at least one study shows that taking time off from work could literally save your life. Working longer hours without extended breaks is correlated to increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
Companies have started to figure out the benefits of a healthy work/life balance for their employees; as a result, an ever-growing number of organizations have adopted unlimited PTO policies—and I’ve done my best to track down as many of them as I could find.
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97 Companies With Unlimited PTO
Unlimited PTO Statistics
Want to know how unlimited PTO is working out for companies who have adopted the policy? And more importantly, how is it working out for their employees?
I went looking for every survey and statistic I could find about the impact of unlimited PTO programs and pulled them all together, so you can see how this relatively new idea is working and how employers and employees feel about it.
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Unlimited PTO Is A Trap: Do This Instead
In this chapter, I examine the good and the bad aspects of unlimited PTO and make the case for why unlimited PTO is a bad idea.
I’ve also put together some ideas for better PTO policies that accomplish what most companies hope to achieve with unlimited PTO—a better work experience for their employees, increased employee engagement and retention, and recruitment advantages—without the downsides of unlimited PTO.
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