Two decades ago, Netflix took a bold step that no organization had imagined yet 👉 an unlimited leave policy.

Yes, you read that right!

In 2003, amidst the heated Netflix vs. Blockbuster race, an employee posed a thought-provoking question to Reed Hastings:

'We work online some weekends, respond to emails at odd hours, and take afternoons off for personal time.

We don’t track hours worked per day or week. Why are we tracking vacation days per year?'

Reed did not have an answer then, but he realized that it was time for a change.

With the introduction of the unlimited leave policy, Netflix put their employees in charge of deciding when to work and when to take a break.

And it was a blockbuster at Netflix (no pun intended), fostering productivity and satisfaction among their teams.

However, it didn’t gain much traction elsewhere. Why?

Because in many organizations, employees feared judgment from colleagues or superiors for taking vacation.

At Netflix, leaders actively encouraged frequent breaks, leading to higher productivity and well-being.

The success of this stems from creating a high trust environment.

When we give our teams the freedom to choose how they work, we encourage them to behave more responsibly.

So, what do you think about the unlimited leave policy?

P.S. Thanks Murli Ramachandran for sharing that this policy since has been updated at Netflix to fixed vacation days.