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by fnfjfk 570 days ago
“Unlimited” means there is no limit, so logically it means a few months should be fine. If a few months not fine, I think a reasonable request would be to define the limit and claim that instead of “unlimited”.

I work at place with about 5 work weeks off, which is a lot for the US, and there’s never any question about whether you can use your time or not because the number of days is exactly specified. I like that better than a vague “unlimited” (but not actually) policy.
2 comments
jedberg 570 days ago
Like most policies at Netflix, or for that matter most workplaces anywhere, judgement is required.

The policy is unlimited. You are welcome to take a year of vacation a week after you start. However, there are other factors, such as remaining employed. You most likely won't be meeting your job duties if you're on vacation for a year.

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yreg 569 days ago
So you are expected to see to your job duties while on vacation?

What you describe sounds a bit like "if you manage to do your work faster, you can take the remaining time off", correct?

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jedberg 569 days ago
Not really sure how you got that from what I wrote.

You're expected to do your job to remain employed. You are welcome to take as much paid time off as you want, in which you would ignore your job.

Assuming you did your job well, this won't be a problem. You either set things up to run on their own in the short term, or you've sufficiently cross trained someone else who isn't on vacation to cover for you.

What I'm saying is that if you try to take a year of paid vacation a week after you start the job, it's unlikely that you've set up either of those things before you go.

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yreg 570 days ago
We have an actual unlimited unpaid time off policy. I have several colleagues who have taken 6+ months off (even repeatedly). Obviously I suspect that wouldn't be well-received within the "unlimited" paid leave at Netflix (but perhaps I'm wrong, I just can't imagine it).
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intelVISA 570 days ago
I quite like the unlimited unpaid policy, is there a reason it's rare? I'm guessing the implication that if you can take 6months off you weren't really necessary?
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yreg 569 days ago
>I'm guessing the implication that if you can take 6months off you weren't really necessary?

No one is strictly necessary. You can bring value to the company and it still doesn't mean that the company would go bankrupt if you left for half a year.

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relaxing 570 days ago
Yeah companies generally hire because they need you there working.
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