LET’S CALL UNLIMITED VACATION WHAT IT REALLY IS. A SCAM.

That headline isn’t meant to be some kind of scandalous, slap-you-in-the-face, “oh aren’t I being anarchic?” statement. It’s simply something that I believe to be true after talking to dozens of people who actually have “unlimited vacation,” and looking into the sobering statistics about this increasingly-popular new company benefit.

Before I dig into that, let’s step back and look at the ridiculous vacation situation as a whole in America. It’s almost as bad as the healthcare crisis, although to be honest, that one is way out in front in the race for absurdity.

Project: Time Off is an initiative that aims to shed some light on the appalling state of an overworked (and increasingly underpaid) workforce. In 1983, Americans took an average of 20 days off each year. By 2014, that number had dropped to 16, although recently it rose a little to 17 days. At the same time, the average number of hours worked by Americans has risen. The old 9-5 is nothing short of a distant memory (sorry Dolly Parton), and most Americans would kill to work a 35-hour week now. In fact, almost 86% of men and 66% of women reported working more than 40 hours per week.

The result of this is simple; we’re all working more and taking less paid time off. Add into the mix that the US has no laws setting a maximum work week length, no legally mandated leave, no legal requirement for paid sick days, and no laws for maternity leave, and you have one hell of a head-scratching scenario. When is comes to legally-mandated time off, we're last in line. Behind Japan.

As a Brit now living stateside, I bought into the propaganda from the TV series and movies I watched growing up. America is the place that’s all about family. It’s the dream. The aspiration. And yet, American companies are not backing that up with the time needed to put family first. However, you play the cards you are dealt, and when you're given vacation days as part of your benefits package, you have something tangible.

Or at least, you did. Now here comes the unlimited vacation benefit.

UNLIMITED VACATION IS A WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING.

I got chatting recently with a nice guy I met through LinkedIn, and he told me about a job he just accepted that had incredible benefits. A gym, paid outings, free snacks, dog-friendly office, a bar, it was the works. Then he dropped the “unlimited vacation time” as the cherry on the cake.

I paused.

He thought I was going to say “you lucky dog,” but instead I said something along the lines of “oh, that’s too bad.”

When he asked me to explain myself, I had to tell him the sad reality of this new benefit being touted by companies that appear to be very progressive and “cool.”

Here’s what it really comes down to, and how I laid it out to him.

When you join a company and get regular vacation days, you usually accrue them. So you start with maybe 10 paid days of vacation (less in some instances), and as you work there you get to earn more and build your vacation day vault.

The days you use are removed from that vault. The days you don’t are carried over, until you’re either forced to start taking some or you simply stop being able to put any more days in the bank. Some companies (usually the more traditional corporate entities) are quite generous, letting you bank as many as 30 paid vacation days.

If you leave the company, either through a layoff or your own choosing, those days are yours. You earned them. They turn into cold hard cash which is paid to you after you say goodbye.

Now that can be a real life-saver for many employees. They may not have any kind of severance package to fall back on, but the vacation days they didn’t use (and most employees are not using them all) are returned to them as a check. This could mean weeks, or even months, of financial help.

Unlimited vacation puts a stop to all of that.

With this new benefit, often touted as a great deal by startups, you begin the year with as many vacation days as you want. It seems to be a prerequisite in those “best places to work” lists, along with open floor plans (which also don’t work by the way). Travel. See the world. Unlimited time off. Awesome right?!

Well, not so fast. If anyone thinks they are going to take every Friday and Monday off, plus a month in summer to go backpacking across Europe, they are in for a rude awakening.

You may get unlimited vacation days on paper, but those days must be approved. You have to actually have the ability to take them off without leaving your co-workers in a bind. And in the high-pressure, overworked, underpaid "money is everything" world of corporate America, you’re going to find it very difficult to take a fraction of the days you want. Look at the ratings on Glassdoor for any company you see offering unlimited vacation. You’ll see it almost always equates to less time off, not more.

But it gets worse.

Now, there’s no more vacation vault. You don’t get to bank vacation days and cash them out when you leave, because you can’t bank unlimited days. In this scenario, you take it or leave it. Make no mistake, this is a massive benefit to the company. They no longer have thousands of hours of unpaid vacation time on the books. This makes the accountants happy, the shareholders even happier, and the CEO ecstatic when he or she gets a massive bonus. 

And if that’s not enough, there’s the fear factor.

YOUR TIME OFF IS UNDER SCRUTINY. AND SO IS YOUR POSITION.

You should be taking the time off you need to be a productive employee. We all should. When I was in a full time position, I did not take those days. In fact, when I left I had a significant amount accrued. Managers should actively encourage their staff to leave the office more, relax, unwind, destress, and come back refreshed and more productive.

What you actually get is the fear of the looming performance review, and the inevitable conversation about how much time off you took. In an unlimited vacation days system, you are less likely to be encouraged to take the time off.

Think about it. When you have a stack of regular vacation hours, your employer wants you to use them up. It’s better for the books.

With an unlimited system, they pay for you whether you’re at work or not. Ergo, they want you at work, because when you’re not there, they’re not getting the benefit of that money.

You are going to be quizzed about your “loyalty” to the company, and your work ethic. “Hmm…I see here you took 15 days off in the last year. You know, most people are only taking 8. We really need to look at your commitment to the firm. You’re leaving a lot of your colleagues holding the fort.”

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT UNLIMITED VACATION?

Here’s the thing. You may run a company that really does offer unlimited time off as a benefit, and actively encourage your staff to take as much time off as they need. If you do, please, chime in and let us all know how that’s working out, and how many days on average people are taking. Is it more than 20? More than 30? How’s morale? How's productivity?

For the other companies using it as a way to cut down on financial liability, there are two humane options. One, go back to regular vacation time that people can rely upon, and bank if necessary. Or two, do something drastic. For example, this company made it mandatory for employees to take vacations.

Yes. Forced vacation time. So, what happened?

Productivity increased 13%. Creativity skyrocketed 33%. Happiness was up 25%.

Will it work for everyone? That’s hard to say. But one thing that’s certain is America has a serious vacation time problem. And this new unlimited vacation days fa?ade is not helping.