Unlimited holidays at Netflix

Back in 2004, Netflix announced a ‘No Vacation Policy’. Sounds ridiculous right? Well, turns out it's not what it sounds like.

What is this policy?
This policy allows the employees of Netflix to take unlimited holidays. It gives them the entire control of how long they want their vacation and when they want to work. Employees aren’t even asked to fill tedious leave forms nor are they required to ask for any approval. They aren’t accountable to anyone.

How does that work?
Everyone loves a flexible schedule, but how can a media giant like Netflix afford to do this? The work culture at Netflix is more result-oriented than time-oriented. That means, as long as you complete what you have been assigned with, the time you take doesn’t matter upto a certain extent.
Although no one at Netflix is forcing its employees to complete the tasks on time, the results expected are of a high-level.

How does that help Netflix?
The result of such a policy is improved creativity in employees. Studies found that the policy also boosted efficiency, contrary to what most might assume about the result of this policy. The employees feel more responsible due to the freedom entrusted to them.
The policy also reduces administrative costs and has shown to increase employee satisfaction.

Is there a catch?
Unlimited holidays aren’t really ‘unlimited’. A study suggested that with the ‘20-day leaves’, employees looked forward to taking the leaves and made use of them. This didn’t happen under the ‘No Vacation Policy’. Employees didn’t take the full advantage of this policy as they felt responsible for the work. Although this is beneficial for Netflix, is isn’t much of a benefit for the employees