Unlimited PTO is a magnet for folks just entering the work force. Recruiters drop lines like “you can take as much time as you need! It’s ok! Everyone does!”. That’s bullshit, recruiters lie, and we keep falling for it. I think it might be arguable that unlimited PTO is feeding the flames of burnout that every engineer I know is trying to extinguish.
I’ve worked for multiple companies with this benefit, and what I’ve noticed most is that very few people take advantage of it. A startup I worked for made it feel like using PTO was a bad thing, like not working for a day or 2 was really going to hurt the business. That place was toxic.
I’ve never seen the perk abused, which is the first thing I’m asked by older generations when I tell them about how much time off I have. I think this is intentional though; businesses know that when employees don’t accrue their PTO, they use less. Even when PTO is accrued Americans take less time off than other developed countries (read: those in Western Europe). They also know that a dollar value cant be placed on “unlimited days” so when an employee leaves, PTO isn’t paid out.
This article discusses this, so does this one, this one, and this one. All four of those have more reputation than I do. There are hundreds of more articles out there that all say the same thing, but I’ll stop at four.