Ulrica Björnhag (senior HR consultant) has had a very interesting discussion regarding free holidays on her blog bjornhag.se.
Take as much time off as you want…
Netflix recently announced that they will allow unlimited parental leave during the child's first year. Perhaps not such a shocking decision by Swedish standards, but clearly something that attracted a lot of attention in the United States. Something that, on the other hand, is mentally far ahead of the times for us, but which Netflix now offers its employees is unlimited holidays. Although this is a relatively new trend, Netflix is far from the only one offering this benefit. Linkedin, Virgin Group and General Electric are some other companies that work in the same way.
Of course, there are arguments both for and against. Some believe that unlimited vacation is a way of developing the relationship with their employees as the management shows that they understand that the employees have a life outside of work. Time has become a kind of currency that is valued almost as much as money. Unlimited vacation gives the employee more time while conveying trust as it is trusted that the employee's commitments will be carried out regardless of how much time is spent in the office.
This sounds fantastic, but there are some disadvantages you should keep in mind before changing your holiday policy. Many of the companies that have tried unlimited vacation testify that the number of vacation days per person has decreased. It has even been discussed that stress increases among the employees as the guidelines become somewhat diffuse. With a predetermined number of days, everyone knows which rules apply. When one instead talks about an unlimited number of days, questions arise regarding what is an acceptable number. Fear of losing the job, being perceived as lazy or losing the opportunity to climb the career ladder means that many avoid taking time off and thus work more than before.
A benefit that was created to reduce stress can therefore increase the stress level if you are not clear about what expectations lie in the background. In barely a month, the new guidelines for organizational and social work environment come into force, which means that we in Sweden may get to share similar results. As an employer, one must, among other things, provide opportunities for recovery. What does this mean in practice at your workplace? What are your employees' expectations? Have you asked them
Published 2016-03-04 15:22 at https://bjornhag.se/
