[sprainedankles]

My first job (2018) provided 2 weeks of PTO, with an increase to 3 weeks expected after _five_ years. Folks in the U.S. can't quite comprehend having more than that (or any at all, depending on the job).

I am very grateful for my current company's "unlimited" PTO policy, it's life-changing.

[Gasp0de]

How unlimited is it, really? How much do people take off in reality? I dislike these "benefits" that no one then dares to use in reality. We have 6 weeks off, and you are literally forced to take them. This basically prevents social norms from putting pressure on people to not go on holidays as much or not during certain times.

[sprainedankles]

That's a fair point! Fortunately, our company culture plays a big role here - unless folks truly don't want to take much time off, everyone seems to take about 6 weeks off. Some teams even plan entire weeks off near holidays so that everyone gets rest and work can be planned/scheduled more easily. "Unlimited" means: assuming you get your work done and are a reasonable team player - take all the time you need (which seems to be 6 weeks, ha)

It can be a slippery slope for sure, I think it only works when the entire team buys into the notion that life is always more important than work (which can feel rare over here).

Happy to say this has been working for me and if the attitude started to change, I like to think I would speak up pretty quickly.