The Unlimited PTO Trap
Unlimited PTO sounds generous but often reduces time off. Without a clear number, people guess wrong. And they almost always guess low.
Unlimited PTO is a decision architecture failure disguised as a perk.
Here's the pattern: company removes PTO limits to seem generous. Employees now have to decide how much time is "appropriate." Without an anchor, they default to taking less. Managers, lacking a policy to point to, can't encourage time off without it seeming performative.
The data backs this up. Namely's analysis of 125,000 employees found that workers with unlimited PTO took an average of 13 days off per year. Those with traditional plans took 15 days. The "unlimited" option produced less rest, not more.
The mechanism is pure behavioral economics. When you remove a default, you force a decision. Decisions create anxiety. People resolve that anxiety by doing nothing (or less). The paradox: constraints can be liberating.
The reframe: If you want people to take more time off, give them a number. Make it generous. But give them something to anchor on. "Unlimited" puts the burden of judgment on employees. A clear policy takes it off.
Sometimes more structure equals more freedom.
