Insights

Munich, February 28, 2024 – Vacation as much as you want – that sounds tempting: on the one hand employees have more free time, on the other hand companies benefit from relaxed employees and raise their profile as an attractive employer. Munich-based communications agency PR-COM granted its entire team unlimited vacation in 2023 and took stock.

In the past, companies were able to lure qualified employees with money and status. Today, this hardly works anymore; the new generation of well-trained specialists in particular expects more from their employer. PR-COM therefore relies on other incentives to attract top performers and retain them in the long term: flexible working models, unconditional home office and trust-based working hours are all part of this. In 2023, the company also introduced trust-based leave. This means that the 45 employees decide for themselves how many paid vacation days they actually take each year.

PR-COM is now looking back on a year of “vacation without limits” and presenting the results:

• Four days more vacation. The majority of colleagues have taken more annual leave than they were previously contractually entitled to. 72% took an average of four days more in 2023 – some took up to ten days more. However, this also means that around one in four did not take up their employer’s offer. Interestingly, it was not just the younger generation, as PR-COM had expected, but also long-standing consultants and editors who took the extra vacation.
• A boost for the work-life balance. 67% of the workforce used the trust leave for a spontaneous vacation or weekend extension. 53% made extra time for friends and family for whom they do not normally “waste” vacation time. Finally, 39% took the opportunity to take days off when workloads were low. Overall, almost 80% of the team felt a significant improvement in their work-life balance, even if they didn’t take any extra vacation themselves. “Just being aware of the possibility of taking unlimited vacation takes the pressure off and ensures greater serenity,” explains Martina Jahrbacher, PR-COM Co-Managing Director and initiator of the project.
• Importance of personal responsibility. If, in theory, all employees can take vacation at any time, there is a risk that work will be left undone, especially around public holidays or on bridge days. In practice, this fear has not been confirmed. On the contrary: the struggle for bridging days has been significantly equalized. No one took an excessive number of days off or an extended period of leave: Everyone remained responsible and fair to their team. Coordination within the individual teams worked smoothly and no project was delayed due to extended absences.

“Of course, there were one or two concerns at the beginning of the project: Will there be a flood of vacations? Would the agency’s work performance suffer? The reality shows that these concerns were completely unfounded,” says a satisfied Martina Jahrbacher. “Trust is one of the most important components for successful collaboration. So it is only logical that as an employer we also take care of the best days of the year. We are happy to give our team the freedom to decide how often they want to take time off. We see the benefits in motivated employees and therefore in a successful company.”

Martina Jahrbacher and her management colleague Alain Blaes have decided to continue the project for an initial period of two years. Unfortunately, German legislation imposes a time limit here, as beyond the two-year period the pilot project would become common law and could no longer be revised. However, PR-COM wants to retain this freedom in this early phase, as neither legislation nor case law on confidential leave exists to date.

Quotes from the PR-COM team

• “The trust leave is a great thing. I no longer have to meticulously plan every single day of vacation for the coming year at the end of the year and enter it far in advance. This makes everything much more flexible and simply more pleasant.” (Account Assistant)
• “After some initial skepticism, I have to say: I think the trust leave is great. You can spontaneously submit a half or full day’s leave, even if the quota is already exhausted. The ‘fight’ for bridging days is also a thing of the past.” (Account Director)
• “Just the fact that you can take a vacation at will makes life so much easier! A wonderful measure, even if I haven’t really used it myself.” (Editorial team)
• “I’m totally thrilled: everyone handled the issue very responsibly. Nobody disappeared for 60 days and the others were able to see how they were getting the job done.” (Office Management)
• “We all pulled together so that the vacation wishes of all colleagues could be fulfilled without exception. Of course, trust leave is not a free ride: if several people in the team are already off and someone else is sick, you can’t take leave – even if you would like to.” (Editorial team)
• “What did I learn from the pilot project? I didn’t request enough vacation. I will definitely change that in the new year.” (Account Management)

About PR-COM

PR-COM in Munich is an expert in PR, social media and communications and focuses on the high-tech and IT industry in the B2B environment. Unconditionally high quality is the top priority for all 45 colleagues. As a result, our consultants inspire their clients with the success they achieve month after month in the media and the trust that makes collaboration so valuable. Our 9-strong editorial team impresses with its many years of IT expertise coupled with journalistic skills. Because we find nothing more boring than conventional communication, we always go the extra mile and put our heart and soul into working on new strategies and ideas for our 45 customers. We know: Behind every strong agency is a strong team. That’s why we do everything we can to ensure that our employees feel comfortable and can develop further. For us, standing still is not an option. More at www.pr-com.de

Further Information

PR-COM GmbH
Anna-Marie Sommerfeld
Tel. +49-89-59997-753
anna-marie.sommerfeld@pr-com.de
www.pr-com.de