At IBM, a vacation anytime, or maybe none

IBM is probably the largest company to do away with tracking vacation.
The New York Times

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[The_Decider]

Good and bad

This seems to be a very good policy, except the part where you leave a number so they can bother you.

When I am not at work, I don't want to hear from them, and they better have a damn good reason for bothering me on a Saturday or Wednesday night.

Sure, work hard at work, but in the end work pays for life, it is not life. That is one of the biggest problems in America, they have traded a life for a career.

"He put in 80 hours a week"

Is that what people want on their tombstone?

[MrStuckless]

A good example of IBM Values driving the company.

One of the main reasons this works is that one of IBM's main
values is "Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships".
The fact that you have the freedom to take vacations when you
want them automatically means that you have the responsibility
to honor that and make sure you aren't affecting your
performance or your team's performance by abusing it. And
since "Dedication to our client's success" is also a prime
motivator, it is no longer about what the boss wants, but on how
you can contribute best to make sure the clients succeed. It's a
small example of how innovative thinking makes a difference.