Sir Richard Branson recently announced a change to Virgin’s vacation policy. According to virgin.com the policy:

permits all salaried staff to take off whenever they want for as long as they want. There is no need to ask for prior approval and neither the employees themselves nor their managers are asked or expected to keep track of their days away from the office.

Branson decided to implement the policy after learning that Netflix had experienced a marked increase in morale, creativity and productivity from a similar model. Unlimited vacation policies, it has been argued, better reflect the shifting nature of work in our lives. For many employees the 9-5 workday is a relic of a by-gone era. Email and smartphones now stretch the work day, removing it from the confines of an office.

The concept of unlimited vacation is not unique to Netflix and Virgin. Other employers that have adopted … Continue reading “Unlimited vacation: flashy gimmick or prudent policy?”