Take as much holiday (vacation) time as you like

[Laura Corin]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29356627

 

I can see this working in back-office jobs - sometimes you really have finished everything you need to and could take some time off.  A good chunk of my job, however, involves answering phones, so there's no end to that.

 

I'm not complaining - I get 29 days of holiday a year (including national holidays) - but I'm trying to see how it would work.

 

L

[horsellian]

It certainly wouldn't have worked in my last job - I worked in a lab, and Quality Control would fall apart if you didn't know exactly who was around and able to do particular work, which needed to be done quickly in order for product to go out of the factory to customers.  My compliance role was a bit more flexible, but still had deadlines.  We would have needed to overstaff by quite a bit (I'd guess perhaps 20-25%) in order to cover the work; especially in the school holidays, as most people had children, and would obviously take extra time off then if they could.

 

My current 'job' is doing admin for my husband's business, and if we just went on holiday at random, we'd go out of business.  As it is, our last holiday was shortened so DH could deliver a session, and often he's missed 'family' holidays in part or entirely.

 

I guess in large enough organisations or teams it could work, but I can see lots of roles that wouldn't ever work (how about police, doctors, nurses, or teachers?)

[Ravin]

If followed through with, it should work just fine. It was pretty clear that it meant vacations only when work flow allowed. The employee is trusted to value their own work and not slack off on a whim.

[Laura Corin]

If followed through with, it should work just fine. It was pretty clear that it meant vacations only when work flow allowed. The employee is trusted to value their own work and not slack off on a whim.

 

I just wonder how it would play out.  In my office, I have to be here all the time because I answer phones and offer first-line information to potential customers - it's a large part of my job.  My boss sometimes has slack times, so could take extra holiday.  My colleague could work harder and gain time off.  So I would be the only person in the office who could not leave - there's no way to 'complete' my work.

 

L

[SKL]

I have a back-office job.  I always take "working vacations."  Which means I bring my laptop and smart phone and act like I am still in the office for the most part.  I also try very hard to get ahead before I leave, so I can actually spend some waking hours with my kids.  For some purposes, I do say I'm on vacation, but I am still working every day.  Maybe not as hard, depending on what's going on.

 

Last winter I had a massive deadline I was working on while I was on a cruise.  The suckiest part of it was that I needed to use an internet database with poor connectivity and high data transfer costs.  I don't ever want to do that again.

 

The year before that we were at Disney World on New Year's Eve.  A big problem arose and we had to stand outside of our hotel to get phone reception and argue about whose fault it was and how to deal with it.  We missed half a day of whatever we had planned to do.  Fun, fun, fun.

 

In Europe this summer, we got a notice that a client had missed a government deadline.  It was their fault, but we still had to burn the midnight oil with very iffy connectivity to get it fixed between Italy and France.

 

We really know how to live.  ;)

[Laurel]

The company my sister works for has a similar policy, though I do believe time off has to be approved (or at least it is required that you let your supervisor know when you will be gone/returning). She could certainly take advantage of the policy more when her position involved lots of computer work, as she could work from home/while traveling. It is not as easy now, as she is in HR and does actually need to be in the office when there are interviews and meetings. (In general, the company still has a very generous vacation policy, so she gets plenty of time off.)

I had one employer that did have a standard vacation/sick day policy in the handbook, but in reality, employees could take sick/personal/vacation days as needed. For me, this meant that some years I would take more vacation/personal time, and some years I took less. But it was never something I had to worry about, or calculate.

[SKL]

Vacation at my last corporate job was theoretically generous and flexible.  Everyone had 6 weeks (plus the 8 government holidays) to use whenever.  (We did have to give notice etc., except for sick time, which was included in the 6 weeks.)  In reality, I don't know if anyone actually took the full 6 weeks.  One year I only took 2.5 days off.  They would say it's possible if you manage your time wisely etc.  But yeah, that is easy to say.  Especially in a place where face time is important.  While you're gone, that gives others a chance to take credit for your work and so on.  It's easier to just show up most of the time so you can keep things from going crazy.

[Annie G]

Dh's boss called the hospital the morning after dh had his heart attack asking if he had sent out an email letting the staff know he was going to be out, and asking what dh's contingency plan was so the work could continue in his absence.   So the trick to this kind of policy is getting everyone on board-all the way from  the bosses who expect you to walk on water to the slackers who barely do the minimum job. 

 

This would work well in lots of environments, with employees who are mature and reasonable, coupled with a management staff that hires enough people to actually do the job.  After the last economic slowdown, many companies are so lean that employees are already overworked. 

[AlmiraGulch]

I have several friends who work for companies with similar policies here in the U.S. (yes, they do exist), and it isn't an issue. No one seems to abuse it, and if they did, their performance reviews and mobility in the company would reflect their failure to accomplish anything.  I think it's a great policy.  

 

 

 

 

[Ravin]

I just wonder how it would play out. In my office, I have to be here all the time because I answer phones and offer first-line information to potential customers - it's a large part of my job. My boss sometimes has slack times, so could take extra holiday. My colleague could work harder and gain time off. So I would be the only person in the office who could not leave - there's no way to 'complete' my work.

 

L

In a big company it's unlikely you're the only receptionist. So you just set the phones to forward appropriately and let your supervisor know when you'll be back. Or sometime who mostly does filing temporarily takes over, etc.

 

Or you take off when the boss whose phone you answer does, and be prepared for the voicemail catchup when you get back.

[Laura Corin]

In a big company it's unlikely you're the only receptionist. So you just set the phones to forward appropriately and let your supervisor know when you'll be back. Or sometime who mostly does filing temporarily takes over, etc.

 

Or you take off when the boss whose phone you answer does, and be prepared for the voicemail catchup when you get back.

 

Yes - you are right.  It's a big company option.  We are a sales outpost of a medium-sized company, so there's no duplication of roles.  I'm the only support person, so in addition to the phones, I type/file/organise/mother for both of my colleagues.

 

L

[Joker]

Dh is kind of able to take off whenever he wants. He couldn't be gone a month but he often works a few hours from home and takes the rest of the day off. We also will be gone for just over two weeks the end of this year and he doesn't have to use actual vacation days for all of it. He doesn't have to ask permission for any if it, he just let's people know. His company seems pretty flexible. One of dh's employees had a baby a few months ago and he told her to come back when she was ready, so she's been working from home and no one seems to mind. If it matters, he works for a large health insurance company.

[elegantlion]

I recently read another report on the issue of working hours and younger employees. Basically, the article stated that younger employees want to work at non-set hours and not be required to show up at 8 or 9 am. For the right business, I can see both scenarios working. Ds is apt to be that type of employee, as he's truly most productive from 10pm to 2am (yes pm to am). 

 

I see this as part of a societal shift from a career defining you to you being more in control of your work. I do think for the right employees and business type, this will up productivity. As SKL pointed out, so many people take working holidays anyway. 

 

The pitfalls, as Laura pointed out, are that it's not right for all businesses or level of employees. I used to work in a large insurance underwriting firm where you could take off a day here or there, but because of the office & team set up more than a week off would have hurt productivity and caused some resentment among other employees because of work load. 

 

Obviously, the question becomes do you get paid for time off or is it just time off. 

[Rachel]

A local company went to this policy a couple years ago. They have about 13,000 employees worldwide although I think the policy only applies at headquarters here in the US. I doubt it applies at the manufacturing plants overseas.

 

I know several people that work there (engineers, IT, accountants) and basically they have times when they have a lot of work during projects and between projects there isn't a lot to keep them busy full time. Each employee is required to keep up with their work but there really isn't a limit to how much they take off. It has improved morale quite a bit as they have faced layoffs several times in recent years. Apparently it was difficult to get used to but most people like the policy now.

[Wheres Toto]

Interesting idea.  I work in an industry that is heavy client oriented.   Most of the people in my department spend multiple days a week at clients so they aren't actually here in the office and there's probably a ton of flexibility to their schedules as long as they are meeting the client needs.  Some people have a set 4 day work week.

 

My current job I support the President of our department so I usually need to be here, but a lot can get done by email if necessary.  I worked from home Monday because my little one was sick and did pretty much everything I would have done in the office (I had to call someone to get things off a printer and give them to my boss but that was it).   I can forward my desk phone to my work cell phone if I remember but when I don't (like Monday) I will get any voice messages to my email.  I rarely get calls anymore though.

We get all the national holidays, two personal holidays, the week between Christmas and New Years, summer fridays (making up the hours), unlimited sick time (if not "excessive"), and 2 weeks vacation that is rolled over if not taken.  And, as I mentioned above, I can work from home if necessary.  I don't think I have a bad deal.

 

 

[creekland]

Hubby works for himself as owner of his own Civil Engineering company (no employees any longer - he subcontracts what he doesn't do himself or uses day labor).  He can take as much time off as he wants and we do tend to travel a bit.  He always lets his clients know and plans when their work will be done accordingly, but even then, some of our trips are spontaneous.

 

Pending what we are doing, he forwards his phone to a cell phone and he always brings his laptop (that contains his drawings, etc).  He can be as connected or disconnected as he wants.  He can take whole weeks off (except maybe for some phone calls) or he can work days/evenings while we "vacation" for the other part.  We both know the fewer hours he works the less money he makes though, and when we are home, he works far more than 40 hours/week to keep things going (but can still be off whenever necessary unless it conflicts with a township meeting he has to attend for a client).  He rarely missed any important thing the kids had going on from soccer games (he coached actually) to birthdays, field trips, or events.

 

I purposely work part time at school subbing as I want to. This allows me a bit of flexibility as well while still having a job I enjoy when I want it.

 

We absolutely love it and wouldn't change a thing.  After 15 years of this, I can't even fathom going back to a "regularly scheduled" job.  It would change our lifestyle way too much for my comfort zone.

 

I can fully understand companies doing this and applaud them for doing so.