You’re working for Netflix!
The high-powered streaming platform is one of the biggest entertainment companies in
the world, and they’ve decided they want you on their team as a salaried worker.
And with that comes a lot of benefits.
You’ll be paid well - the lowest-paid Netflix salaried worker gets over $50,000 a year,
with the highest paid getting over $600,000.
And no matter which side of that fence you’re on, you’ll get a nice package of perks.
It includes stock options, a stipend for any health needs, unlimited parental leave, and
unlimited paid vacation.
Wait, did you say UNLIMITED paid vacation?
Technically, yes!
And on the surface, it sounds like Netflix just gave you the license to check out on
your second day of work, head to the Bahamas, and collect a paycheck while soaking up the
sun.
Netflix is a high-tech company, and you can probably do much of your job from your beach
cabana.
You’ll even answer some emails - it’s the least you can do.
But you can stay on salary while taking all the time off you want.
It sounds too good to be true.
And of course, that means it is.
By not giving you a fixed number of vacation days, Netflix leaves the judgement call up
to you.
And there’s a chance this will lead to people actually taking less vacation days, not more.
Have you ever tried to ask your boss for a favor?
Maybe asking for a raise, or a more flexible schedule?
The odds are it was the most nerve-wracking thing you’ve done in a long time, and the
odds are you’ve chickened out more than once.
When vacation days are something you already have, it’s easier - but if you’re asking
for non-fixed vacation days, many people might find themselves wondering if they’re doing
the right thing.
But does Netflix actually want you to take your vacation days?
Well, if you look at the website, the answer is an unambiguous yes!
The company prides itself on its flexibility, and the only real guideline they give for
using your company stipend is “use good judgement” and “Act in Netflix’s best
interest”.
And they have a two-word policy for vacation - “Take vacation”!
They don’t give any formal guidelines, and say they intermix work and personal time a
lot.
That means even if you’re on vacation, you’ll be doing a bit of work.
And they’re probably hoping you’ll spend some time brainstorming and come into the
office with some great new ideas!
But in practice, the story might be very different.
Every office is an ecosystem, and ecosystems have seasons.
If you’re requesting time off, your boss’ reaction might be very different depending
on the time of year.
While Netflix doesn’t have traditional “seasons” like network TV does - where the fall season
and sweeps weeks can determine whether the CEO keeps their job - some times are much
more critical than others.
If Netflix is about to do a full-court press for a new announcement, that’s probably
not the time for the head of the PR department to take their vacation.
And no one wants a customer service agent to be on vacation when the latest season of
Stranger Things just caused the servers to overload and a million angry fans want to
know why they can’t watch.
But how did all of this begin?
Back in 2003, no one ever thought of an unlimited vacation company.
Big companies all gave vacation days and tracked them so no one spent too much time away from
the office.
But it soon became clear that Netflix was no ordinary company.
They were mostly a DVD rental company at that point, before streaming took off, but they
were already one of the first companies to take full advantage of the new digital world.
Employees were working on the weekend, responding to emails, and taking off early when allowed.
So one employee asked - if they’re not an old-fashioned company in any other way, why
are they on vacation days?
CEO Reed Hastings thought about it - and decided he had a point.
Hastings believed that what actually mattered about employee performance wasn’t how much
time you put in at the office, but what you achieved when it was crunch time.
And with a creative industry, there was no such thing as being totally off the clock
- even when you weren’t at the office, the gears in your mind were churning.
And more often than not, employees would come back from their vacation bursting with ideas.
The post-vacation slump wasn’t a thing at Netflix - and Hastings thought it was time
to take full advantage.
But not everyone agreed.
When the unlimited vacation policy was first announced, the general response was skepticism
and mockery from the press.
Most companies were still run as traditional offices with set hours, and the digital revolution
was barely beginning.
So how would a traditional office work if anyone could take off whenever they wanted
to?
People saw two disasters in the making.
For one, without official vacation days, no one takes a vacation - and workers wind up
burning out.
On the opposite end, people take vacations with no regard for the company’s needs,
and the company collapses from lack of staff.
Hastings didn’t believe either would happen.
But he was soon proven wrong.
Peer pressure became a serious problem when it came to taking vacations.
Whether you felt comfortable taking a vacation or not depended on the culture of your department.
The marketing department was notoriously full of workaholics, and one employee who we’ll
call “Donna” felt like there was no way she could let them down.
If no one in leadership wants to take vacations, conscientious workers won’t take them either
- no matter how much they need to.
But not all departments have the best interests of the company in mind.
The accounting department at Netflix is critical, and January is the crunch time when they have
to turn in their yearly analysis of the company’s business model.
But one year - the year after the vacation policy changed - the books were late and the
company was left hanging.
The cause?
A critical member of the accounting department had decided to take the first two weeks of
the month off, hoping to skip out on the most difficult part of work entirely.
While it was technically within the rules, they likely didn’t make themselves any friends.
But for other workers, the new policy was a revolution.
One employee was coasting along, turning in all expected work, and was in good graces
with his bosses - who didn’t even know how much vacation time he had taken, because no
one was tracking it!
He had taken almost two months' vacation by October of that year, and it hadn’t caused
him any problems because he was well-organized and kept up on his deadlines.
His work-life balance was better than ever, and no one had any issues as long as his work
quality stayed high.
But it was clear that the program needed a little refining.
The first step fell on leadership.
Many thought they were displaying a good work ethic by working through the year, but in
fact were sending a dangerous message to their employees.
If the boss never takes time off, most employees will be too worried about giving a bad impression
to take their own time off.
This leads to an office full of exhausted workaholics - which is why Hastings takes
six weeks of vacation a year himself.
And he likes to consider himself a vacation evangelist, convincing all his department
heads to set a good example and take their own vacations.
But no policy can survive in a vacuum.
The key to making the policy work was one word - context.
Hastings knew that a disaster like the accounting affair couldn’t happen again, and some employees
would always take advantage by skipping out on the most difficult part of their job unless
something changed.
So Hastings puts the responsibility on the managers again - they know the schedule of
their department, and they need to communicate to their employees when is an appropriate
time to take an extended vacation - and when they’d be leaving their co-workers in the
lurch.
But did the company’s new policy stand the test of time?
Well, it’s still in effect to this day, so it seems so!
And for Netflix, it seems to be paying off.
The company barely resembles what it was in 2003 - now being a streaming juggernaut that
not only features some of the most popular TV shows ever created, but has spawned countless
imitators in the streaming world.
And it certainly hasn’t lost any of its productivity, as its digital-forward strategy
has led to giving employees more flexibility than ever.
Many work remotely, and remote workers can work just as easily from their hotel room
after a vacation day as they can from their home office.
And that has led to other companies jumping on board.
Kronos, Glassdoor, and most famously Richard Branson’s Virgin Group added their own unlimited-vacation
policies, and the perk was seen as a big attraction for new hires.
After all, who wouldn’t like the flexibility to go on vacation at any time - and have your
job support you and pay your salary while you’re living it up?
It was usually most popular with high-tech companies that did much of their business
online, but even more traditional companies saw what was happening and wondered if it
was time to start competing.
But not everyone is behind the new vacation model.
Advocates for workers’ rights say the policy sounds good in theory - but in practice it
might wind up doing more harm than good.
They say that employees will be dealing with arbitrary pressure from their co-workers and
bosses, and might feel like they’re falling behind if they take off too much time for
work.
This is especially worrisome for Netflix’s parental leave policy, which allows new parents
as much time as they want.
But if someone takes full advantage of this policy, they don’t know what the office
will look like when they come back.
And not every company has found this policy benefits them.
German tech company Travis CI tried this system, and found that instead of being helpful for
employees, it actually created more office stress and made things more unequal.
Employees were nervous about taking time off, and no one wanted to be the one taking the
most vacation days.
It also caused arguments about privilege, as those who were more secure in their jobs
were more willing to take time off - especially if they had the money to take elaborate vacations.
The option to take vacations at any time might make some people less willing to take a vacation
at all.
And companies may have another motivation for trying this policy.
Vacation days are a cost for the company, and every one taken is a liability in their
books at the end of the year.
So when employees are given a traditional allotment of vacation days and have to take
them before they expire, they’re more likely to actually spend them.
When they have an unlimited number, some think the company is hoping they don’t actually
use them because of the demands of the job - and wind up taking less vacation days in
total than the average, saving the company money.
They think companies should ditch the unlimited vacation and instead offer generous vacation
packages.
But Netflix doesn’t see any reason to change.
While there were some bumps in the road, the company’s culture is thriving under the
unlimited vacation policy.
With managers instructed to encourage workers to take vacation and to communicate clear
expectations about when is NOT a good time for vacation, the company is expected to continue
to keep cranking out content and seeing its stock price rise.
So enjoy your vacation - just don’t expect it to be the most relaxing vacation you’ve
ever had.
The producers of The Witcher are on the line.
For a look at some of the other big players in the digital world, check out “YouTube
vs. TikTok - Who Will Win?” or watch this video instead.