[rm999]

I switched from a job with 3 weeks of vacation (that would be 4 by now if I had stayed) to one with no policy. My take on it is I can take 3-4 weeks a year without feeling guilty.

I honestly think every responsible and competent adult (and I purposefully leave those terms imprecise) should have no vacation policy. Vacation should be a fact of life: take it when you need it, don't take it when you can't, and work as much as you need to to do a good job (again, imprecise).

[Evbn]

You want to be an independent contractor. That is cool, but not what an employer is.

Do you think responsible adults should just pay employees whatever they need and can, and not agree on a number in advance? Why or why not?

[brm]

Are you paying for them to be there for a prescribed time or are you paying them to get the work done?

[thedudemabry]

I agree. I've now worked for two companies with unlimited vacation policies, and there have been some stark differences. At my previous job, where there was previously an accrued vacation system that switched to an unlimited policy, no one felt good about taking vacation days. At my current employer, everyone from the founders on down advertise and celebrate their vacation. Same policy, different context.

From an hours-worked-metrics standpoint, the policy is a success at my previous employer and a failure at my current job.

From an employee-health and burnout-rate standpoint, the policy is a failure at my previous employer and a massive success here.

I can't advocate either policy over the other without that context, but I'm skeptical of the value of introducing unlimited vacation as a benefit over an existing accrued vacation policy that employees are generally happy with.