Unlimited PTO
"To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace." – Doug Conant
A few days ago, a friend reached out stating he would be in San Antonio for a business conference, and he asked if I was available for lunch or dinner. I was happy to be in town, so I quickly agreed.
In fact, I offered to pick him up at the airport and take him to the downtown Riverwalk Hotel. It had been more than three years since our paths had crossed, so it was nice to see him. Given he had lived in Texas in the past, he was aware of the steamy summer weather here in San Antonio.
Our Lunch
Farai and I agreed to meet for lunch a few days later, and I met him near his hotel. Although San Antonio is pretty warm during this time, we have a beautiful downtown with lots to do and wonderful Tex-Mex food.
After placing our orders, I asked Farai how his work was coming along, and he said …
“Well … I am now working for a staffing company as an Android developer in Charlotte. A few months ago, the company leaders implemented an unlimited PTO policy, and it has given me a ton of freedom!”
I thought for a minute … a company that offers its employees unlimited paid time off sounds a bit too good to be true, right? Does this mean the employees can skip work for months or even a year?
I asked Farai to share a bit more about how this policy works …
“Yeah … I know it sounds a little weird, the idea is we can work as little or as much as it takes to get the job done. In fact, we can work from anywhere. I was recently visiting family in Zimbabwe for two months, and I made sure all my work was complete. There were some days I put in two hours, and other days I did the regular work schedule. My managers only cared that the work was done, and it didn’t even matter to them that I was outside the country.”
As you can imagine, I had many more questions for Farai about this PTO policy, but I think you get the picture.
We had a great lunch together, and it was terrific to see my friend. Outside of the PTO discussion, I asked about Zimbabwe, and his description of the geography, culture, and food energized me to visit Africa soon!
A Two-Way Street
After reflecting on my chat with Farai, I was reminded how much the way work gets done has changed, and I like the direction we are going.
To have a terrific workplace, we must have a two-way street of accountability.
That is, the employers should trust and support their employees. At the same time, however, the employees must ensure the assigned work gets done on time and within the quality specifications.
When this type of business relationship exists, we can expect happy employees who yield top results, which will inevitably improve the company’s bottom line.
See you next week, my friends!
Closing Quotes
"Happy employees lead to happy customers, and happy customers lead to repeat business." –
Anne M. Mulcahy
"The happiest employees are those who feel they are part of something bigger than themselves." – Howard Schultz
Homework Inquiry
During the next week, here’s your homework inquiry: How will you do your part to create a happy and productive workplace?
I use this opportunity to share with you a unique story and a couple inspiring quotes. Oh ... as a professor at heart, you guessed it, I have a homework inquiry for you. This is a powerful question that might just trigger you to take action on something that really matters in your life. If you feel the Catalyst Newsletter brings benefit to you.