Taking annual leave seems to be taboo in many industries. Accruing it takes time, but like saving money it is one thing to have it, but another to spend it. So much of travel advertising is focused on “14 day holiday packages”, which coincidentally coincides with the exact amount of annual leave that people accrue in a year.

Most employees feel pressured to spend their annual leave, and on the flip-side they feel pressured to return to work when the do get around to it. For the most part, annual leave is meant to be a time to relax and unwind, but it rarely turns out that way. I’ve seen many of my friends take their annual leave for a variety of reasons, from family tragedy to moving house. This can be a waste of their desperately needed rest and relaxation time.

Unlimited annual leave has come about as a direct response to moments like this. The idea that time away from work is a very necessary part of working means that employees can feel valued not just for what they do, but who they are.

Unlimited annual leave has some very real benefits, in theory. The idea that an employee can feel at ease knowing that if they needed to take time off work, they could do so without the pressure of it being limited time. Returning to work straight after a holiday can be tough, and often can be disheartening. Having the extra piece of mind that you don’t have to go back straight away can mean that you can take that day to settle back into the country without jetlag, or even just nurse that hangover!

Unlimited annual leave gives employers the power to see that their employees are able to not get distracted by the prospect of not being at work too. The extra productivity element can really give employees the extra lift they need to excel in their role.

So while it might be great to work in theory, unlimited annual leave has its issues. The first of which is that employees may in fact abuse the system, finding new ways to leave work for playtime. This can create a culture of mistrust, as employees end up having a disparity in the amount of leave each takes. For unlimited annual leave to actually work, employees and employers all need to be on the same page. There are some working cultures where it simply wouldn’t work, due to the level of mistrust and internal politics that prevails.

The other big pitfall of unlimited annual leave is that nobody takes it, for fear of being judged. At least with accrued annual leave employees have the option of when to take it, and can be a bit strategic as to the circumstances in which they take it. Without that limitation, there is no need to be strategic which moves the whole annual leave scenario to the back of the employee’s mind.

For unlimited annual leave to work, an organisation needs to factor in the current working environment it fosters to begin with. Laying some ground rules from there can help build the trust between employees and management, which can help create a better culture around annual leave overall.

While this concept might be in its infancy, its exciting to see where the possibility of unlimited annual leave takes us!