Links to Employers Who Value Vacation

For most of us, our jobs are a double-edged sword when it comes to taking high-quality vacations. On the one hand, without them we couldn’t finance the trips of our dreams, but at the same time the need to be in the office or otherwise available can make getting away difficult.

However, wise employers have long recognized the value of encouraging valuable employees to get away from it all. Not only does travel serve as a retention tool, but it enables workers to remain fresh and motivated. By “travel,” I don’t mean two midweek nights at the Dubuque Comfort Inn going over the TSM reports. Instead, I’m referring to true decompression time, whether that means actively skiing the backcountry or just lying in a lounge chair by a pool. A big impetus for the founding of this website was to help us document how we foster that work-life balance in our family. Indeed, with more than a full-time job each, and ambitious travel plans, it takes a lot of coordination and effort to make it work and to avoid burnout. If we’d known 20 years ago what we know now we might have done some things differently, so we’re trying to be transparent about all of that.

At the same time, the pandemic has put employees (at least temporarily) in the driver’s seat, allowing them to demand a more favorable work-life balance, however they define that term. It has also made it clear that many of us can work from anywhere. Not every employer buys into that belief system, and when the pendulum swings the other way these policies might revert back to their previous status, but right now if you look hard you can find examples of employers who encourage their trusted staff to work hard and play hard. Here are a few links and resources demonstrating this trend:

Spanx CEO Gives Employees $10K and 2 First Class Tickets to Travel Anywhere in the World

Spanx CEO Sara Blakely believes that “the more you experience in life, the more you have to offer others." She’s putting her money where her mouth is. With her company now worth over a billion dollars (and a majority stake sold), she certainly has the cash to give her employees this great benefit, but how many CEOs would actually do it? Not many, I’m guessing. No word on whether shapewear for your trip is included.

Unlimited vacation days? More employers are embracing the policy.

This is a trend that I only heard about recently – and it’s not all roses. For example, you’re entitled to nothing if you quit or you’re fired, and it raises all sorts of ethical and practical concerns about how much leave you can actually take. Nevertheless, I have to assume that it’s mostly positive when your employer treats you like a grown-up and gives you the freedom to get your work done on your own time – as long as you get it done right and in a timely fashion.

Dream Job Alert: These 10 Companies Let You Work From Home AND Have Unlimited Vacation Time

If unlimited vacation days sounds like a perk that you want from your job, and your current employer can’t or won’t make it happen, here are some places that might be accepting resumes.

17 Flexible Companies That Help Pay for Your Vacation

And here’s another list of employers, many of them in the travel space, that provide stipends or reimbursement for certain vacation expenses. Be sure to read the fine print, and of course make sure that you’ll actually like any job that you get with them, but we’re hoping these lists get you thinking about ways to stay gainfully and productively employed while also feeding your wanderlust.