Microsoft recently announced that they will no longer be tracking vacation time for US salaried employees. Instead, employees will be able to take time off at their discretion, with manager approval. Unused vacation time prior to Jan. 15 will be paid out in April. The policy also includes 10 corporate holidays, leaves of absence, and other days off for illness and mental health, jury duty, and bereavement.
Microsoft is not the only company to implement an ‘unlimited’ vacation policy, with other tech titans allowing most employees to work from home part time. Last year, the company attempted to bring employees back to the office for at least half of the week, but later admitted that a back-to-office ‘normal’ may not happen this year. Microsoft has also experimented with other employee benefits, such as a four-day workweek in its Japanese subsidiary which saw an increase in productivity by 39.9%.
Hourly employees and those working outside the US are not eligible for the unlimited time off policy due to different laws and regulations. It remains to be seen how this new policy affects productivity and employee satisfaction. Microsoft employees or those with insight to share can contact a reporter directly.