A startup with no PTO: bop or flop

Unlimited Paid Time Off: Pros and Cons

Unlimited paid time off sounds like the wildest zoomers dream come true. Yet, the concept is not as new as it seems. Many early-stage startups offer us this blessing. But is it a blessing in disguise? And should you, as a founder, create this business world oasis for your team?

Unlimited PTO establishes trust in your employees and decreases administrative responsibilities. But, on the other hand, employees can abuse this opportunity or even, on the contrary, take little or even no time off.

So does unlimited vacation work for startups? We'll review the policy's pros and cons and provide ways to minimize its downsides.

Hands-on approach: Netflix

Let's dive into Netflix's experience with a controversial employee policy that other companies would try to copy. The policy eventually became known as "unlimited vacation."

The employee noticed they did not track hours worked per day or week. So they suggested doing the same thing with days of vacation per year.

Hastings, one of Netflix's co-founders, later wrote, **in the information age, what matters is what you achieve, not how many hours you clock,