How people work is rapidly evolving. For the past several decades, technology has increasingly allowed workers to collaborate from across the globe – or from the comfort of their own homes. Today, the United States is facing a particularly tight labor market and companies are forced to compete for top talent. Now that millennials make up the largest part of the U.S. labor force, these companies are also embracing new values.
The result is that many employers are offering workers an enticing combination – the freedom to work remotely and the privilege of unlimited vacation days.
That’s right, some companies are letting workers take as many days off as they like and work wherever they like. Remote working specialists Remote.co recently highlighted six companies that are doing just this.
Here are a half-dozen remote employers who are giving their workers unlimited vacation days:
Automattic
Company description: Automattic is a web development company best known for producing WordPress. The company’s mission is “to democratize publishing.” According to the company’s website, Automattic employees work in 66 countries and speak 81 different languages.
Remote working policy: “Everyone works from the location they choose. We’re spread out all over the world in more than 50 countries. We track about 70 percent of our projects on P2-themed WordPress.com blogs, 25 percent in private chat rooms and the rest on Slack. Because of the geographic variance, we’re active 24/7. We care about the work you produce, not just the hours you put in.”
Vacation policy: “Open vacation policy (no set number of days per year). We encourage all employees to take the time they need for vacation, to pursue their own interests to stay healthy, and to spend time with friends and family.”
Collage.com
Company description: Collage.com allows customers to design and purchase personalized products like blankets, mugs and phone cases.
Remote working policy: “We're nationally recognized for our 100 percent remote team, with employees working together from coast to coast. In fact, we were the first all-remote company to be profiled in a case study by Harvard Business School. The entire company meets together in person twice a year in Ann Arbor, Michigan to get to know each other, have fun and work on strategy.”
Vacation policy: “Flexible day-to-day schedule and generous vacation policy: work hard and take vacation when you need it.”
Groove
Company description: Founded by three former Google employees, Groove develops sales and customer support software for companies. Their clients include Google, Slack and Uber.
Remote working policy: “We don’t have an office, and our entire team is remote. Do your work from absolutely anywhere with an internet connection.”
Vacation policy: “Need time off? No problem. We don’t count vacation days, and you’ll be measured by the work you get done, not the time you spend doing it.”
InVision
Company description: InVision is a product design platform that lets users build applications, prototypes and products. According to the company’s website, users include Amazon, HBO and Netflix and employees work from over 20 countries.
Remote working policy: “Who says you need to move to work at a great company? Not us. We know there's great talent all over the place and we are a completely distributed company. Do great work from an environment that you're comfortable in.”
Vacation policy: “Together, our team builds more than products. We may have all those people-friendly perks, like work-from-anywhere and unlimited vacation (it’s true!), but what’s more important is that this team cares about things greater than us.”
Knack
Company description: Knack allows companies to build data-centric applications without coding. The company’s website claims that over 3,500 Knack users have developed over 50,000 apps using their software.
Remote working policy: “Our only rule is our overlap zone of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST. Otherwise find the location, environment and schedule that is best for your life and work. It’s not about separation, it’s about optimization.”
Vacation policy: “Take the time you need to stay motivated, charged and balanced. You’ll get forced days off for birthdays and knackiversaries.”
TeamSnap
Company description: TeamSnap is an application for managing sports teams, leagues and tournaments that is used by over 1 million teams in over 196 countries.
Remote working policy: “Some people work at our headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, but most work remotely from all corners of the USA or around the world. A few work from RVs in the middle of nowhere (as long as they have strong internet). We collaborate remotely by Slack, Zoom, GitHub and email. We also fly people to the same location to work together. Mostly, we’ve gotten really good at communicating among a distributed team and giving people the flexibility to work the way they work best.”
Vacation policy: “Work when and how you want to, whether that’s in your house or in a coffee shop or in a co-working space or on the beach. Work should fit into your life, not the other way around.”
While benefits like working from home and unlimited vacation days may sound like a recipe for non-stop relaxation, these policies may actually encourage employees to work even harder than those at companies with more traditional policies.
Some experts say that these policies actually make workers more hesitant to take time off because they don't want to be seen as taking advantage of the generous benefit. Others say offering unlimited vacation days helps workers avoid burnout and increases employee retention.
While unlimited vacation is not yet common enough to be proven positive or negative, it can’t be denied that working on the beach is a pretty nice way to earn a living.
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