Richard Branson is giving employees in his Virgin group unlimited holidays.
The policy, or “(non) policy” as Branson described it, stems from the development and popularity of flexible working.
Announcing the decision on the company’s website, he said: “Flexible working has revolutionised how, where and when we all do our jobs. So, if working nine to five no longer applies, then why should strict annual leave policies?”
It will apply initially to the parent company in both the UK and the US – where Branson noted that “vacation policies can be particularly draconian”.
“Assuming it goes as well as expected, we will encourage all our subsidiaries to follow suit, which will be incredibly exciting to watch,” he added.
Online television and film streaming service Netflix was the pioneer of the unlimited staff holiday and Virgin will follow in its footsteps.
The Netflix approach, which Virgin will mirror, was described by Branson as “one of the simplest and smartest initiatives I have heard of in a long time”.
Let’s see what this does for creativity and motivation. www.wsandb.co.uk