Why some companies are making their workers take vacation

Even as some companies are introducing more generous PTO policies, taking enough vacation remains a challenge for many employees.

In order to ensure employees take the time off they’re allowed, some companies are implementing minimum PTO policies. Goldman Sachs now requires all employees to take a minimum of three weeks of vacation every year, according to an internal memo shared with HR Brew. Smaller firms, such as spend management company Emburse and photo-book company Chatbooks, also have similar policies in place.

HR leaders at these companies say that while implementing mandatory minimum PTO requires careful planning, it can level the playing field for US employees working in globally distributed companies, as well as provide workers with a renewed sense of creativity when they return to work.

Planning for PTO. Planning is essential for teams working to comply with the mandatory minimum vacation policy, according to Danielle Tabor, chief people officer at Emburse, which introduced a two-week minimum last year. Employees at Emburse receive unlimited time off.

Tabor’s team encourages managers to have conversations with their employees about vacation planning each quarter to make sure they schedule time off on the calendar.

The HR team at Emburse tracks PTO utilization rates each quarter, and reaches out to managers if they see employees aren’t taking enough vacation. But they try to put the onus on company leaders to be proactive in helping their staff plan vacations, Tabor said.

“We don’t want to have to monitor the teams and ensure that they’re following the rules,” she said. “We want to make sure that this is something that…everyone feels really comfortable doing.”

The benefits of being away.

Tabor said the minimum PTO policy is helping Emburse employees—most of whom are US-based—catch up to their European colleagues, who are accustomed to taking more vacation. While the minimum for US employees is two weeks, Emburse abides by national laws for workers in other countries. They have employees in Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, and Australia, and follow vacation minimum requirements for those countries.

“​​We started really conservatively with a two-week minimum, and that is nowhere near what you’re going to get somewhere like the Netherlands,” she said. Depending on how the rollout goes, she said, “There could be an opportunity for us to put in a higher standard on our mandatory minimum.”

Chatbooks, based in Lehi, Utah, first rolled out a mandatory PTO policy in 2020. The company requires employees to take one week off each quarter, in addition to a two-week company-wide vacation at the end of the year, for a total minimum of five weeks.

As is the case with Emburse, the policy requires managers and the HR team to stay on top of planning for vacations, said Vanessa Quigley, a co-founder. But she said employees come back more creative and energized, with new ideas for designs or product features, for example.

“There just seems to be increased excitement and energy when they come back to work,” she said.