For unlimited leave policies to work in Singapore, culture and managers matter: HR analysts

THE impact of an unlimited leave policy depends on the company’s work culture and individual managers, particularly as Singapore’s employees tend to underutilise leave, said human resources (HR) practitioners.

Professional services firms Accenture and Deloitte, law firm Audent Chambers LLC, and Netflix Singapore are among the companies here that grant unlimited paid leave. 

Since the policy was introduced last July, Accenture employees now “take almost double the amount of leave on average compared to before”, said Accenture’s country managing director for Singapore Mark Tham, though he did not provide exact figures.

At Deloitte, which introduced the policy in July 2019, employees “typically” apply for annual leave within the previous range of 18 to 20 days. About 10 per cent take longer breaks than their previous entitlement, “subject to work exigencies”, said Deloitte Singapore’s talent leader Ong Siok Peng.

Audent Chambers, which has had its policy from the outset, does not monitor the amount of leave each person takes in a year, said co-founding partner Jordan Tan.

“Our unlimited leave policy is simply a reflection of the trust we place in these high-calibre hires and faith in their work ethic. Our policy, in turn, has given them the autonomy that they fully deserve,” said Tan, adding that such autonomy “keeps them motivated and highly productive”.

Deloitte and Accenture said their unlimited leave policy is part of a commitment to employees’ well-being.

Companies benefit, too. At Accenture, the policy “has led to reduced attrition rates”, said Tham.

Flexible working policies have improved Deloitte’s ability to attract and retain top talent, said Ong, adding: “It has been a crucial part of our value proposition and enables us to stand out amid an increasingly competitive and dynamic business landscape.”

Carmen Wee, chief executive officer of HR consulting firm Carmen Wee & Associates, said companies might decide that unlimited leave gives them a competitive edge “because there are different motivations for the younger workforce”.

Another reason to grant unlimited leave, said HR analyst Adrian Tan, is that “more well-rested employees contribute better to their organisation”.

All this leave, but no time to take it

However, workers in Singapore already tend to underutilise their leave entitlement, and this issue is unlikely to be solved with unlimited leave, noted the HR practitioners.

Said Wee: “Every year, in HR departments that I used to manage, employees don’t clear their leave and there will be many requests to carry over their leave. So this is an ongoing issue in Singapore.”

Many studies have shown that workers with unlimited paid time off actually use it less, said Tan. One factor is that there is no longer a fixed amount of leave to be cleared within the financial year.

“Without a benchmark or anchor, people don’t know when to start,” he added. “And I think in Singapore’s hard-working culture, there is also the premise of peer pressure.”

Work demands are another factor, said Wee. Cautious hiring sentiment may mean that companies are understaffed, and employees are thus facing higher individual workloads.

A senior manager at Accenture, who has worked there for over seven years, said: “Nothing changes about your deliverables, whether you take more leave or not.” Team members must thus ensure that their leave dates do not clash.

There are also “guardrails” when it comes to updating colleagues, such as giving at least one month’s notice for each week of leave.

However, this sense of obligation might itself hinder employees from taking breaks. An Accenture consultant said that the project-based nature of consultancy can make it harder to take leave, as “other people would have to cover your duties”.

While employees will accommodate a fellow team member’s leave request if he or she has no projects to handle, there can be “discomfort” if a team member takes leave when a project is ongoing, she said: “I would probably judge a little bit, if I’m being honest.”

Still, she has seen “quite a lot of flexibility for people to take leave”, she added. “When I first joined and I told people Accenture had an unlimited leave policy, a lot of (their) reactions were: ‘Oh, that means you can’t take leave, because the fact that you have this policy in place means that you will work so hard that you can’t take anything at all.’ But that’s not necessarily true.”

The Business Times understands that at Deloitte, consultancy is the one role in Singapore which does not enjoy unlimited leave.

For unlimited leave policies to work, managers are key. First, bosses must lead by example, said HR analyst Tan.

“Imagine that you have a boss who is also entitled to unlimited (leave) but doesn’t take a single day off,” he said. As a subordinate, you may not “dare to take leave”.

Secondly, managers must consciously prioritise breaks for their employees. As a former HR manager, Wee used to insist employees go on breaks, even if they did not have plans to travel overseas.

“Again, it goes back to company culture; managers need to plan for their employees to go on leave,” said Wee. “That is the humane thing to do, if you ask me.”