(Thumbnail image: Flickr)

 

Imagine being able to take off an unlimited amount of vacation days at work and get paid for them. It sounds too good to be true, but that is what one social media company in Seattle is doing for its employees. But is it too much of a good thing?

We’re looking at perspectives from Fox News, CNN, Komo4 News, Daily Finance and the Boston Globe.

FOX & Friends weekend hosts talk with Social Strata’s President Rosemary O’Neill about the policy it suggests might create more problems for the company.

“Is it a bit of a test? Because if some of your employees all of a sudden start upping the ante and going from three weeks to three months off, they are likely not going to have a job, come next year, I would assume? If our next product doesn't get launched or something like that happens we'd have to take a close look. But that’s not gonna happen.”

At Daily Finance, the idea of unlimited vacation is one the writer believes could benefit both employees and employers.

“An unlimited leave system could be highly productive. Along with ensuring that workers are consistently energized, it also conveys an appreciation for employees that would inspire greater loyalty and increased productivity.”

Komo4 News in Seattle talked with employees at Social Strata, who believe that the policy will improve their lives.

“To know that my employers trust me just gives me a lot more impetus to do better. ”

But skeptics are warning against the idea, claiming that employee’s hopes for their dream vacations may actually equal no vacation. The Boston Globe reports:

“Because of technology's reach, some activists rightly worry that unlimited vacation is nothing more than corporate-speak for no vacation at all. They worry that employees without a specified vacation allotment will feel pressure to work constantly, damaging their relationships, their health, and the nails on their BlackBerry-typing fingers.”

Despite skeptics, CNN sister station King5 News reports O’Neill’s hope that the move will inspire her employees.

“I think it will be self policing, O’Neill says for that reason she doesn’t think anyone will abuse the unusual policy. When you treat people with respect, which is the essence of this policy, then they rise to the occasion. I really truly believe that”


So what do you think about the unlimited paid vacation rule? Is it any employee’s dream or too much of a good thing?

 

Writer: Marlena Kopacz

Producer: Nathan Giannini

Business News

Unlimited Vacation: A blessing or a potential nightmare?

February 1, 2010
(2:23)
Social Strata, a Seattle-based company, is offering its employees unlimited paid vacation time. But will the company's new policy live up to its appeal?
   
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