“Responsible Time Off” Policy

Brian Anderson

Executive Editor
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A pretty big (750 employees) independent brokerage based out of Des Moines says their “Responsible Time Off” policy is a big hit (article in link below).

Responsible Time Off is a paid leave program that affords exempt employees “the flexibility to balance work and personal life.” Employees are expected and encouraged to take time away from work when they need it, the company says, and the amount of time an employee has to take off is no longer specified. “Rather, time off is available when necessary for employees to operate at their highest level while providing the best service to clients.”

You do hear that lots of Americans don’t take all their available paid time off every year, and that it’s “unhealthy.” What do you think – does it sound like a good policy, one ripe for abuse, or one that probably makes little difference compared to traditional PTO policies? (Or perhaps all 3?)

Insurance Forums | Better work-life balance goal of
 
What do you think – does it sound like a good policy, one ripe for abuse, or one that probably makes little difference compared to traditional PTO policies? (Or perhaps all 3?)

A lot depends on how it's implemented and controlled. I can't imagine any company (certainly not one with 750 employees) giving their employees carte blanche without keeping controls or limits on it.

I'd need more details about the controls and limitations before being able to render an opinion.

You do hear that lots of Americans don’t take all their available paid time off every year,

A "use it by the end of the year or lose it" policy would eliminate that problem.
 
Lots of companies have switched to this, many much larger. When I worked at Sun Microsystems over 10 years ago, they had this.

Most companies I know that do it, only allow it for salaried employees (exempt) and due to laws, can't offer it to non-exempt employees (hourly). Vacation time still requires approval, but its not approved against available time off, just company goals.

My wife has implemented this at a few companies she does HR for, it is a big hit, and surprisingly, rarely gets abused. Face it, most of the people who get this are the same ones still pounding out emails while they are on vacation!!!!

Dan
 
A "use it by the end of the year or lose it" policy would eliminate that problem.

That sounds great and all, but the real problem is the same reason unlimited or responsible time off doesn't get abused. Americans are afraid to take time off, at least once you get past entry level, hourly jobs. Lots of reasons why, but the short is many Americans are afraid to use all their vacation time. A lot is company culture.

Use it or lose it often is done for the employer's benefit, no time off rolling over that has to be paid for when the employee is terminated. I'm not sure how many states have this rule, but Tennessee requires that all earned pay be paid out at termination, and earned vacation counts.
 
We currently do that for our employees here. Take the time when needed. It alleviates a lot stress when issues or family emergencies come up that it is with no question given to the employee.

Now, we are 750 employees that work in the building strong that are on our payroll. They are salaried employees. From our point of view, it has been very helpful and invigorating to the staff members here. :)
 
Came across a recent Inc. article that had some interesting facts about Americans and vacations.

• 54% of Americans did not use all their paid vacation time last year

• Average total days off dropped from just over 20 days between 1978 and 2000 to about 16 days in recent years.

• In 2016, Americans took an average of 16.8 days off, the second year of growth since vacation time bottomed out at 16 days in 2014.

The article says "if you are one of the sad Americans who isn't taking your time off, then consider this: You are doing your job on a volunteer basis for a week or more every year."

https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/americans-are-finally-taking-more-vacation-time-heres-why-you-should-be-one-of-t.html?cid=search
 
A "use it by the end of the year or lose it" policy would eliminate that problem.

There are some employees for whom that would make no difference.

Some because of their attitudes about the company, some because of the difficulties involved in arranging for their jobs to be done while they are gone.
 
This is quite common benefit in the IT world, I see this at many places in Boston. It is good to see it arriving to the insurance world through the independent channel. In 2045 the big mutuals will also offer this as a benefit though they may announce like something that has been never offered before.
 
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