Just when you think employers and managers might actually be instating policy with their workers' best interest in mind you find yourself, yet again, disappointed. As with anything in life, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is… and there's bound to be a catch. So, when you first hear that some employers are now offering "unlimited" PTO as an incentive for their workers, your first thought is "Wow, unlimited PTO, that's pretty neat! As long as I get my work done I can take as much time off as I want!" You might even apply for a role with this expectation while HR eggs on that expectation with a forced smile.
However, this fantasy will quickly become a reality when you discover that you can't actually take "unlimited" leave. As it turns out, employers haven't suddenly developed an interest in maintaining a happy, motivated, and healthy workforce—with a passion for their work and lives driving productivity. No, the reality is that while you don't have a set number of days of PTO you do still need to get those days approved and if you take too much leave you're going to get flagged for a conversation with HR.
Here's the kicker: Employers really only do this to reduce the company's liability of PTO, that pesky PTO liability that employers loathe and sometimes even decry for hanging over the overhead of their business. In a sense "unlimited" is really a fancy way of saying "You don't have a set number of leave days and so we can give you as many or as little as we want and we also don't have to pay you for it when you leave."
This worker discovered this when their boss denied their leave request because they were using "too much" of their "unlimited" PTO. The frustrated worker shared their experience with this online community, sparking discussion on the subject.
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