Microsoft gives unlimited vacations – but not in the way you think

The technology group doesn’t just care about these days invest in And Collaboration with OpenAI He caused a sensation, but also with a new vacation policy for employees. Starting January 16th, Microsoft will introduce discretionary leave, which guarantees employees in the USA unlimited vacation entitlement. However, there is a problem.

Microsoft gives any amount of vacation: that’s what’s behind it

Tom Warren The Verge reports on Microsoft’s new holiday policy, which only applies in the USA. The publisher received a memo from Kathleen Hogan, director of personnel at Microsoft, outlining the plans. Hogan wrote in the note:

How, when and where we do our work has changed dramatically. And while we’ve made the transition, updating our vacation policy to a more flexible model was a natural next step.

From January 16, full-time employees can plan as many days off as they want to better organize a trip, for example. However, vacation days beyond the so-called corporate holidays are not paid for. And in the US, Microsoft employees only get 10 corporate holidays. There may also be days off due to vacation, sick leave, mental health days, bereavement, or jury obligations. Anyone who still has unused public vacation days will receive a payment from Microsoft in April in return.

In the United States, employees generally do not have a legal right to vacation. However, many companies offer ten or more corporate holidays. Large corporations in particular rely on such a policy. In addition to Microsoft, Netflix and Salesforce, among others, have introduced models that allow employees to take nearly unlimited time off. However, employees can take longer and longer leave if they can still manage their duties.

The unlimited vacation model may sound exciting to employees in Germany, but it’s hard to compare general conditions in the US to those here. In Germany, people who work five days a week have it Entitlement to at least 20 paid vacation days per year. In addition, there is one for most employees Study leave entitlementwhich employees in this country can benefit from.