Microsoft also comes up with unlimited holidays. The American giant will no longer require employees in the United States to officially record vacation thanks to a new, more flexible policy on managing employee leisure time. The announcement, which came on the heels of new policies adopted at Adobe, Salesforce, LinkedIn (previously owned by Microsoft), Oracle and Netflix, arrived via employee email. Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s chief personnel officer, as reported by The Verge, refers in the letter to a “discretionary leave” (Dto) plan, or “Discretionary leave” for all employees in the United States. This permits it to be used freely by the worker, without first having to accumulate days to use it. Radically change how, when and where we do our work, Hogan explains in the internal memo. Posting a shift, updating our holiday policy, and introducing a more flexible model was a natural move.
How does Unlimited Holidays work?
The changes will be effective from January 16th and the new policy will also affect new hires who will no longer have to wait to collect vacations. In addition to this new unlimited vacation policy, Microsoft will offer 10 company vacations, vacations, health and mental absences, and absences for jury service or family bereavement. There is also a bonus, the amount of which remains to be understood, for the accumulated and not taken vacation. Employees with an unused vacation balance will receive a one-time payment in April. The new policy is part of a Microsoft sponsorship that has chosen to focus on smart work since 2021 and that last year awarded a $1,500 bonus to employees to tackle the pandemic.. For the time being, the new model will only be valid in the United States and this is due to big technology, which we mention has fired a thousand people in 2022 or 1% of its workforce, it is difficult at the organizational level to offer unlimited vacations to workers in other countries.
Not just Microsoft
Microsoft certainly isn’t the first big tech company to embrace unlimited vacations. As mentioned by Salesforce, LinkedIn, Oracle, and Netflix (as well as Goldman Sachs but only for senior employees) offer similar policies and According to a survey by XpertHR, in 2021, nearly 4% of US companies offered unlimited vacation plans. It’s a model that obviously has lights and shadows. If it’s a good visiting card in terms of the employer’s brand (what worker doesn’t want unlimited vacation?), then it can be an added complication for team-wide management, especially in periods when activity is worker-intensive and absenteeism is frustrating.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the company had looked into the potential drawbacks of such a system and would work to ensure a minimum number of vacation days. Unlimited vacation can also be a boon for employers: It requires less bureaucracy and administrative work, and employees who quit or become redundant don’t have to be compensated for unused vacation.
“Explorer. Devoted travel specialist. Web expert. Organizer. Social media geek. Coffee enthusiast. Extreme troublemaker. Food trailblazer. Total bacon buff.”
