Richard Branson, boss of Virgin, recently implemented a policy which allows the employees on his personal staff to take as many holidays as they like, whenever they want, providing their leave does not detriment the business. Smart idea?
This move changes Virgin’s company culture, and on Adam’s blog, he acknowledges that it “hopes to encourage and develop a relationship of trust between the company and the employees, making the workplace more casual and less restrictive”. He also adds that it helps employees maintain greater focus on achievement and will increase efficiency since they are incentivised with potential holiday time.
I, on the other hand, am not convinced that this is a wise HR decision. Yes, it may encourage greater efficiency from employees who are motivated by time off work, but will this come at the cost of quality?
Branson may be trying to follow suit with the idea of ‘flexible working’ from companies like Google and Apple, but his HR policy is highly different than that of Google’s, who’s corporate culture ensures employees are thoroughly invested in Google and maximises the time the employees stay there. Branson, on the other hand, is incentivising his employees by a motion to let them leave the company for as long as they’d like, provided they have achieved their work and are comfortable doing so. It is questionable whether motivating employees with the option of Unlimited Vacations is the best way to increase employee’s investments and passion for the company; as it only makes them want to finish duties as quickly as possible and this might not be a desirable mindset for a company that seeks to grow. So let’s say this increases productivity by a massive amounts and as a result employees are now taking large extended holidays. The company’s losing valuable time, and also security. How can it function when it’s best people are constantly trying to get away from the company, and it never knows when it’s employees are going to turn up for work?
Hence I disagree with Adam’s view that this will provide Virgin with a competitive edge; on the contrary I believe it will detract from building a strong Corporate Culture and detract from strong employee ties.
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