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Something Extra: As Much Vacation As You Want?

MIAMI (CBS4) - They say a vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking.

And that's the point: psychologists say the best way of ensuring productivity is by ensuring adequate downtime.

Most of us have a set number of days of vacation a year, that our employers keep track of religiously.

But now, a growing number of companies are eliminating vacation policies altogether.  They're not getting rid of vacations, they're eliminating vacation time tracking, trusting workers to be responsible and take the time they need, when they need it.

The theory is that unrestricted vacation fosters productivity and loyalty because it focuses on results: as long as you get your work done well, it doesn't matter when and where you do it.

Huge companies, including IBM and Netflix reportedly have sent their traditional vacation policies packing.  To my amazement, they insist it hasn't caused chaos, but others say the lack of guidelines fuels a tendency to work all the time.

At our editorial meeting today, we suggested unrestricted vacation to our boss.

She put her hands over her ears.

I guess you can't blame her... news never stops... and if Shannon, Eliott and I all took vacation at the same time, you might be watching a test pattern right now

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