Unlimited paid time off is starting to gain traction in the U.S., including at some hospitals and health systems. While still relatively rare, 7% of U.S. organizations now offer unlimited PTO, up from 1% in 2014, according to human resources group SHRM. Its success, however, often hinges on organizational culture and structure.
Gardner, Mass.-based Heywood Healthcare provides unlimited PTO to director-level positions and above through a flexible time-off policy, Kaleigh Maio, vice president of human resources, told Becker’s.
“This change was established out of a deep understanding of the pressures our leaders faced, especially during the pandemic, when many of them reached their time-off accrual caps but couldn’t step away due to critical staffing needs,” Ms. Maio said. “We saw firsthand how this created unnecessary stress and forced directors to take time off at moments that weren’t ideal for them or their families, to avoid losing their earned time.”
Implementing the policy was a meaningful step toward supporting leaders’ well-being and recognizing the importance of rest, balance and autonomy, she added.
Strategies for success
Trust, communication and fostering a culture that encourages and supports time away have been crucial to making unlimited PTO successful, Ms. Maio said.
“We regularly check in with directors to ensure they are taking time off and not feeling guilty or hesitant to step away,” she said. “We also provide clear guidance to leaders on how to model and promote healthy time-off behaviors within their teams.”
Encouraging open dialogue about workload, boundaries and self-care helps ensure flexible time off enhances workplace culture rather than hinders it, Ms. Maio said.
Other hospital and health system executives have emphasized the importance of leadership modeling PTO usage to encourage other employees to take time off — and the challenges they face in fully stepping away while on PTO.
Tailoring PTO policies
Assessing an organization’s needs is key to determining whether unlimited PTO is the right fit.
As a state institution, the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth does not provide unlimited PTO. However, it offers allocations for vacation, sick leave and wellness days, Dennis Burns, associate vice chancellor and chief human resources officer, told Becker’s. The organization also provides leave options for volunteer work, voting, donation, fitness, floating holidays and foster parent leave.
“The keys to making our existing program work are educating employees on what is available and ensuring they have access to timely information regarding policies and available allocations,” Mr. Burns said.
In tailoring human resources policies to meet workforce needs, staff and faculty at HSC at Fort Worth expressed a desire for enhanced career development opportunities, Mr. Burns added.
“We have adopted a new competency model and will require staff and faculty to have career development plans in place,” he said. “This initiative will allow them to take leave during company time to further develop skills that are valuable to both our current and future workforce.”
Cincinnati Children’s has also prioritized workforce needs across generations in developing its PTO policy, Chief Human Resources Officer Peter Adebi told Becker’s.
“We hear from both older Gen Z and Millennials that there is a high desire for more paid parental leave to support birth and adoption,” Mr. Adebi said. “One of the goals of the PTO policies at Cincinnati Children’s is to serve as a retention tool.”
The longer employees stay with the health system, the higher the maximum limit of their PTO, he said. In addition to 10 recognized holidays, employees can accrue up to 25 business days of PTO.
