Is Unlimited PTO Really the Problem?

In one of my recent scroll-happy “research” moments, I came across a company announcement where they were eliminating unlimited PTO. Why? Because apparently the “A players” weren’t using it, and the “B players” were taking advantage of it. Instead, they announced a new rule: everyone must take four weeks off each year. Mandatory rest.

Now, I’m all for people taking real breaks; I preach it often. But let’s not pretend this policy shift solves anything. This isn’t a solution to a PTO problem. This is a you’re-avoiding-real-conversations problem.

Let’s unpack.

Whenever I’m looking at a policy change, building a new program, or even tweaking something that already exists, I always start with one question: What is the problem we’re actually trying to solve? It sounds simple, but you’d be amazed at how often that question gets skipped in favor of quick fixes or shiny new policies. If you can’t clearly name the issue, you’re probably not solving it; you’re just layering process on top of confusion and calling it strategy.

Why aren’t your high performers taking time off? Are they afraid the work won’t get done? Are they feeling guilty? Is your culture quietly rewarding burnout with gold stars and Slack shoutouts?

And why are some folks taking “too much” time off? What does too much even mean if your policy was unlimited? Are expectations unclear? Are you noticing performance issues, but not actually addressing them? I’ve got bad news: introducing a one-size-fits-all policy won’t fix inconsistent management. It just sweeps the real issues under the rug.

When leaders avoid dealing with individual behavior, whether it’s burnout or underperformance, it doesn’t disappear. It festers. And your whole team feels it. And I can guarantee they resent it.

In a recent post, I wrote about how communication is the foundation of high-performance cultures. These conversations between leaders and their teams? They are the cornerstone of that foundation. Not the All Hands, not the memos, not even the team offsite. It’s the one-on-one, “hey, can we talk about what’s really going on here?” conversations. That’s where culture is built.

Here’s the part we don’t talk about enough: not having tough conversations doesn’t just affect the person who’s underperforming; it impacts everyone. It erodes trust. It creates resentment. It slows momentum. High performers start to wonder why they’re working so hard when mediocrity gets a pass. It becomes easier for people to check out or burn out because nobody’s raising the bar or defending it. It’s even worse when you begin to take away rewards rather than addressing the actual problem.

One thing I’ve consistently seen in engagement surveys across industries, team sizes, and cultures is that one of the top drivers of disengagement isn’t compensation, perks, or even workload. It’s the failure to address performance issues. When people feel like their hard work is being quietly undermined by a lack of accountability around them, they disengage. They stop raising their hand. They stop going the extra mile. Because what’s the point of pushing for excellence if no one’s protecting the standard?

You cannot build a high-performance culture without accountability. And accountability doesn’t mean more rules. It means getting comfortable with discomfort. It means having the kind of conversations that make your stomach churn a little but move your team forward a lot.

If someone’s clearly fried, encourage them to unplug. Like, actually unplug don’t just let them sign off and then ping them three hours into their beach day. And if someone’s performance is slipping and their out-of-office frequency is part of the issue, don’t silently resent it and hope they’ll just “get it.” Talk to them. Compassionately. Clearly. Directly.

Your team will respect you far more for having the real conversation than they will for a surprise policy change.

And while we’re at it, what happens at the end of the year when people suddenly realize they have two weeks left to burn and your projects are peaking? Now, you’ve got another issue because you didn’t address the real one.

So, here's my unsolicited (but lovingly offered) advice: before you go rewriting policies, take a good look at the behaviors you're tolerating. Culture is what you allow. And if what you allow is avoidance? That becomes your standard.

High-performing teams don’t just happen. They’re built conversation by conversation.

More to come…