how the right employee benefits (and employer attitudes) drive team performance

At this stage, the next person to point out that the pandemic has caused a shake-up in work culture is unlikely to win any of the top prizes in this year’s Most Observant Commentator Awards.

For those of us who specialize in non-traditional and displaced work practices, issues like remote and hybrid work have dominated the discussion of late — and it can be tempting to casually toss topics like unlimited vacations on that pile.

Alex Dick, Managing Director of Alexander Lyons Solutions explains that this would be a mistake, however – not only because it’s an idea worth investigating, but also because unlimited paid holidays were mainstream news before the pandemic hit.

For the uninitiated, unlimited vacation is as easy as the name suggests. Instead of granting employees a fixed number of vacation days, employees can take as much vacation as they want – paid in full.

Of course, workers can also — and this is where the water gets cloudy — take as little vacation time as they want. In the hands of an uncaring or unscrupulous company – and there are plenty of them – unlimited time off can put so much pressure on an employee that he or she won’t take any vacation at all. This is a recipe for burnout.

That’s why it’s so important to talk about unlimited vacation: not just to explore a practice that can lead to benefits for both employees and businesses, but to make sure we implement these practices in a sensitive way that really benefits employees. put first – rather than just lip paying service to mental and physical health while squeezing the workforce dry.

The business case for unlimited holidays

In many positions and in many organizations, including our own, the single most important measure by which we judge success, productivity and good work is simply performance.

When employees achieve the right number of goals, be it recorded sales, completed projects or balanced books, their performance can only be described as strong.

And of course the pandemic and the onslaught of displaced persons has taught us that it doesn’t really matter how, where or when this feat is delivered.

If a particular employee completed his tasks well and on time, does it matter if he did it at home, on a Barbados beach, or on his head?

The same principle applies to unlimited vacation. I’d even go one step further: if an employee walked into the office and my company made £300,000 in January, I’d be thrilled if they took the next six months to get their legs up.

I suspect the employee would say much the same – after all, a recent Deloitte report points out that some employees would rather have an unlimited PTO than a 10 percent pay increase, and there’s no question that implementing policies that employees want will improve performance. will improve .

Of course, policies like unlimited paid time off aren’t just about maintaining employee productivity — they can actually improve employee speed, efficiency and retention.

Just look at recent experiments with four-day workweeks – according to Microsoft Japan, which tried this idea in 2019, an extra day off led to a 40 percent increase in productivity for the rest of the week. It is clear that giving employees more flexibility, freedom and time off can bring tangible business benefits.

However, this strong business case comes with an important caveat: The wrong company culture or the wrong motives can cause unlimited vacations to take a less appetizing turn in companies that are more concerned with cash than satisfaction.

In other words, they abuse it.

It’s not just about business – it’s about employee wellbeing

The ‘dark side’ of unlimited holidays quickly surfaced in the aforementioned 2019 BBC report.

Citing the experiences of software company CharlieHR, the report explains that a combination of workplace demands and general ambiguity made employees “fearful” of taking advantage of their supposedly unlimited leave.

As a result, unlimited vacation can sometimes lead to a reduction in leave taken – it does not automatically lead to a more relaxed approach or a peaceful adjustment of employees’ work-life balance.

Employees may even begin to feel pressured to take no time off at all, with the report condemning unlimited vacation as not so much a perk as a pitfall.

We’ve had to address this issue ourselves, by contractually requiring our employees to take at least their basic vacation time off – and we’re demanding that they relax over Christmas whether they like it or not!

In my opinion, the real concern is not just that this could happen, but that certain companies may view this lack of time off as good for their bottom line – they are allowed to pay lip service to reducing stress, while subtly preventing their employees from doing their job. leave company. desks.

The right motivation

Does this mean unlimited vacation is a failed experiment? Of course not.

It’s clearly not a utopian fantasy to claim that companies can increase productivity while also giving their employees the flexibility to stay happy, stress-free and — by extension — be more likely to exercise that all-important sense of loyalty.

However, to realize this vision, business leaders must approach unlimited vacation with the right attitude. They really must want the best for their employees – otherwise the entire enterprise becomes a cynical lining of their own pockets.

Perhaps it goes without saying that trust, empathy and respect can create a win-win situation for both business leaders and employees – but if that’s the case, I gladly accept that I won’t do well at the Most Observant Commentator Also awards.