Any thoughts on the worst kept secret at Nike?
13 replies (most recent on top)
where are you hearing/seeing this information about "unlimited pto"? I am not at whq, so I don't hear the 'hallway chatter'
When is Nike making this change?
Talked to a friend who works in a Nike Finance department. Part of the impetus for "Unlimited PTO" is the new workforce, many who come in and want what everyone else has, including 20 and 30-year employees. Rather than having to negotiate varying PTO structures for those in the same salary bands, unlimited PTO takes one variability out of the equation. Another is to remove the "I am losing PTO, but can't take time off" employee complaints. That problem originates from both management and the employee. The idea is that "Unlimited PTO" will spur management and employees to better plan PTO in advance, and have meaningful conversations how to make it work. As an ex-Nike employee, I know the reality is that this conversation will only happen if layers of management agree to a meaningful plan ahead of time. And my experience is most Nike managers don't have the skills of inclination to do the right thing.
Damn this issue is so important to me.
I used to count on NIKE to do right things and to say the right thing. Now they just say the right thing and do whatever they want for the share owners and Wall Street.
It’s like we lost the Oregon in us.
Since they gutted The place I guess it makes sense now.
FML.
It's more than just wiping the PTO from the books... employees will essentially stop taking PTO all together since there will be competition to NOT take PTO. Have fun enjoying 1 week/year to vacation. It happens to all companies with this policy.
Did the policy on sabbaticals change?
It's not "unlimited PTO", it's just not tracked anymore. That doesn't mean you can take all the PTO you want, it means you no longer have a balance on the books. A stroke of the CFO's pen and it's like it was never there. This clears Nike's balance sheets nicely, especially since they have no intention of reimbursing anyone for accrued PTO. Sabbaticals will be gone too or require more time to earn. Forget 10 year sabbaticals, think 20-25 years for your first one and then others in 10 year intervals if they exist at all. There will be a lot of pressure on managers to get rid of tenured employees (40+ years old or 20+ years with Nike) to avoid the cost of sabbaticals or extended PTO. Someone will try to sell this as good for the employees. Don't fall for it. This is about eliminating a financial drain (in the eyes of finance) at your expense.
Read @mvt again and pay attention to the last few sentences. Unlimited PTO is not designed to enhance the employee experience. Companies must keep funds available to pay PTO that is accrued but not used. That's money that sits on the books and cannot be used for other purposes. It's an accounting headache that is eliminated by removing the ability to accrue PTO. No accrued PTO means no need to keep the money on the books. Unlimited PTO means you will lose your accrued PTO and you will not be paid for unused PTO when you leave Nike. You will still be subject to the same PTO rules and will need your manager's approval to take PTO. This will also eliminate sabbaticals. You will just submit a PTO request for a longer period and maybe it will be approved. In the end, the company saves money and you lose the days. It's being sold to look like Nike is going to give you unlimited PTO. In reality, they are eliminating your ability to manage PTO as an investment/asset and by default, terminating the sabbatical program. They win, you lose.
Freestyle is unlimited PTO.
Freestyle, an outmoded concept of office design, has been almost universally derided and abandoned by every other company which implemented the design years ago. The high density, noise, distractions and lack of privacy contributed to a marked decline in productivity and employee morale. In addition, studies found that employees lost all connection to the workplace and eventually to the company. @kys is correct. It was a clever way to save money by packing more employees into a smaller space. By marketing the concept as desired by the new generation of workers (millennials, etc.) anyone who disliked the design was instantly labeled archaic and unwilling to evolve in the modern workplace. Companies around the country spent millions of dollars on the new designs, only to tear it all down years later and replace it with...you guessed it...offices and cubicles. The only ones who profited were the office design architects and furniture companies who originally sold the freestyle design to the company executives and later convinced the same executives to return to the old style based on their "exhaustive research." Before I left Nike, Dan Fouts was being gutted to construct the "new" and "innovated" freestyle design. In a few years they will follow the same pattern and spend millions to return to the old design. I understand the new buildings will have the freestyle design. The definition of crazy is repetitively engaging in the same action while expecting a different result. I left Nike in the middle of all this craziness and have no regrets. My biggest lesson from Nike is that nothing is done for the benefit of the employees. That includes new office designs, unlimited PTO, transfers, and reorganizations. If they are selling it as good for the employees you can guarantee it's about cutting costs at your expense. If you believe otherwise, then you meet the definition of crazy.
There are no plans to track days and apply to bonus. This move is for EPS only. Freestyle is not unlimited PTO. If you believe freestyle is PTO you are part of the problem and should have been laid off, instead of some really good folks that worked their butts off every day. Freestyle is how they are able to triple the density of buildings and get around the Oregon laws regarding number of occupants per building.
Subject To approval by your manager..
Bonus based on contribution, contribution based (among other things) on number of days worked.
There is already unlimited PTO. It's called freestyle. No one comes to work anymore.