[_jal]

> Or consider unlimited vacation for developers.

Is there any evidence that developers (or anyone else with "unlimited vacation") take more time than they did previously?

I've assumed that was more akin to "open offices" - selling a cost-cutting measure as something hip.

[milkytron]

My company recently switched to unlimited, and everyone has been consistently taking more than we were offered prior, which was a generous amount compared to previous places I've worked for.

So far in the 4 months we've had unlimited, I've taken 40-50% more time off than I would have otherwise. I think many employees know of the issue you mentioned, and we're collectively taking steps to prevent that from happening. It mainly has to do with culture and not have too many key person dependencies.

[MattGaiser]

I only have anecdotes from the two companies I have worked for with it, but developers taking 5-8 weeks off is not uncommon.

And whether or not you do take it, you can if you need/desire to do so.

It stands in contrast to more traditional companies that offer you two weeks to start and an extra week after three years of service without a raise.

[jacobr1]

I too only have anecdotes from myself and friends/colleagues, but a few experiences stand out:

* The accountability culture really matters. Are teams responsible for their own commitments/deadlines? If you think you might get fired, or at least a lower performance review for taking vacation (because you shipped less while out) then you are less likely to take vacation. Of course the problem here isn't the PTO policy, but unlimited PTO in a company like this is worse than a defined amount of time.

* Are senior leaders work-a-holics? If so, that might breed a culture where, even these same leaders always say the right things about everyone needing to recharge and take advantage, the ambitions see those above them, and ape the behavior of working more. This trickles down, though it might be inconsistent across the company.

* As time has gone on with these being more common, some strategies have emerged to take advantage of them more effectively. Such as being more aggressive with 3 day weekends, or flex schedules, or remote work, or vacation hybrids (like going abroad for a 6 weeks and working every other week). Taking a bunch of multi-week vacations may or may not work in your company, but figuring out the broader category of "flex work" seems to be getting a ton of experiment.

[namelessoracle]

Best of both worlds is guaranteed vacation with unlimited sick in my experience. People for sure take their vacation, and people slip in days to not be around when they need a break and need an extra 3 day weekend.

[rocqua]

I have vague memories of stories that it leads to less time off taken. Something about people feeling more guilty taking vacation when they have to pick their own limit.