What is Unlimited PTO?

Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO) is a new trend in employee benefits, especially in the tech industry. It is an innovative way for employees to balance their work and life in a way that maximizes productivity and job satisfaction. About 20% of US businesses are offering this employee perk in 2023.
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Benefits of Unlimited PTO

There are many great benefits to unlimited PTO for employees, including:

• Take as much time off as they need for personal reasons
• Allows time off for religious or cultural celebrations of choice
• Take time off to recharge and stay productive
• Improves mental health in the workplace
• Improves morale and engagement of employees
• Flexibility to build a life on top of a career

Challenges of Unlimited PTO

Although there are many benefits to unlimited PTO, employers may face some challenges, such as: 

• Difficulty in tracking and monitoring employee time off
• Potential for abuse and misuse of the policy
• Unclear expectations and lack of accountability

Employees may also take less PTO than when there was a limit. With unlimited PTO, many don’t draw a boundary between work and home life. They may not reap the benefits of what unlimited PTO was set out to achieve.

How to Make Unlimited PTO Work

1. Establish clear guidelines and expectations (i.e. the bare minimum PTO)
2. Provide training to managers, HR, and employees so that they know how to log this information into the system and get organized
3. Monitor time off usage, and employee performance, and ensure compliance
4. Identify bottlenecks and improve unlimited PTO work policy

With the right measures in place, unlimited PTO can be an effective way to reward and retain employees. Unlimited PTO is the most popular emerging employee benefit, 72% of employees are interested in unlimited PTO as a benefit.

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Other Borderless resources you may find useful:

The Top 4 Benefits to Offer Your Remote Workforce

Creating a Global Benefits Strategy: A How-To