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Travis CI: From Open to Minimum Vacation Policy

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Re: Travis CI: From Open to Minimum Vacation Policy

#91

Of course the other reason for 'unlimited vacation' is so when an employee leaves, the company doesn't have to pay them for unused vacation days. Huge red flag when a company has 'unlimited vacation'

And how you accrue vacation at a company. I gain something like 6 or so hours every 2 weeks. Before I started I let them know of something I needed to be at in my first few weeks and their response was "That's OK, you can just do unpaid time".

Other than not paying me if I leave mid year, what other reason could there be for crap like this?

Re: Travis CI: From Open to Minimum Vacation Policy

#93
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your normal pay + $1000 or just $1000 ? In Sweden you actually get a ~12% higher pay during your vacation.

Do you know why? Is it just to encourage people to take more vacation time?

I've no idea about Sweden, but one theory could be that you spend more money on holidays. You are eating out, you're spending money on accomodation.

Re: Travis CI: From Open to Minimum Vacation Policy

#94

I've said it before and I'll say it again, unlimited days off (or "open") and zero days off are identical. If you have unlimited vacation people are inclined to take less and people respect the vacation you take less ("as you can always take more!"). Here's a study[0] (PDF) called "Overwhelmed America: Why Don’t We Use Our Earned Leave?" It is biased (travel association) but interesting nonetheless. According to this…

In the EU, all workers are entitled to minimum 4 weeks paid time off per year. If the employer is able to control your time, then that doesn't count as holidays.

Re: Travis CI: From Open to Minimum Vacation Policy

#95
> A company has to learn how to function when people are on vacation and unavailable, however important their role is.

Yes, this is essential for having a viable company. If the company grinds to a halt without person X, the solution is not to get rid of person X's vacation.

Also, in finance, required vacations are often a compliance aid. If someone is running a scam, it tends to need near-daily tending, and it will explode when they are out for two weeks (unless they find a co-conspirator).

Re: Travis CI: From Open to Minimum Vacation Policy

#96
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your normal pay + $1000 or just $1000 ? In Sweden you actually get a ~12% higher pay during your vacation.

Do you know why? Is it just to encourage people to take more vacation time?

I also do not know why but I've read about encouraging people to take days off has effects like people who are ill taking care of themselves and not spreading a cold around the office and ruining the whole work place attitude.

Re: Travis CI: From Open to Minimum Vacation Policy

#97
post #40

Of course the other reason for 'unlimited vacation' is so when an employee leaves, the company doesn't have to pay them for unused vacation days. Huge red flag when a company has 'unlimited vacation'

IIRC, the company doesn't have to pay you for unused vacation days even if you don't use them. It's pretty much at the discretion of the company.

Most tech places to my knowledge pay out unused vacation days (and not just CA).

Re: Travis CI: From Open to Minimum Vacation Policy

#98
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, so in Silicon Valley a week is an 'extended vacation'! I used to think that meant a month or more. How fast the world is changing.

I work for a Boulder tech startup with an unlimited vacation policy. Last year I took a month in Japan and South Korea, I just returned from two weeks in Tokyo, Taipei and Hong Kong. I also spent two weeks in Europe earlier this year, plus some odd long weekends and a planned week away around Christmas. I think my total for 2014 comes to around six weeks. We also have a policy of working one month a year remotely fro…

as an european, i'm envious.

Re: Travis CI: From Open to Minimum Vacation Policy

#99
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is 2-3 weeks off a normal amount of time in the US? I get 28 days off per year in the UK, which is around the standard amount.

> I get 28 days off per year in the UK, which is around the standard amount. 28 is the legal minimum in the UK, however that includes bank holidays. You probably actually have 36 including bank holidays

It is also worth pointing out that the American posters are only referring to discretionary vacation time. Most US companies have eight or so fixed holidays in addition.

Re: Travis CI: From Open to Minimum Vacation Policy

#100

I've said it before and I'll say it again, unlimited days off (or "open") and zero days off are identical. If you have unlimited vacation people are inclined to take less and people respect the vacation you take less ("as you can always take more!"). Here's a study[0] (PDF) called "Overwhelmed America: Why Don’t We Use Our Earned Leave?" It is biased (travel association) but interesting nonetheless. According to this…

I'm curious to read about what it means to "de-stress" from work but I think you forgot the [1] citation. Maybe this is not common, but if I worked at a company with "unlimited vacation", I would definitely take extended vacations occasionally. I think as long as you timed them appropriately and gave advance notice, you could easily take a week or more off.

In large parts of Europe, 3+ weeks contiguously is the norm for summer vacations.
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