How’s the unlimited vacation policy working out there?
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I think it is sound advice to utilize the advantages of the 401k to the greatest extent possible regardless of the situation. This position alone however is exactly what those in power want us to do... this and nothing else. Essentially the narrative is: "just worry about yourself, don't rock the boat... you can't change anything else anyway..." This is exactly what we have been doing for decades and why this entire mess exists in the first place. There is a cancer growing here and just putting money into your 401k won't do anything to fight it...
Without any action the downward spiral just continues while compensation, benefits, and working conditions continue to deteriorate. These conditions ultimately lead to frustration and burnout with the end result in people leaving. When people leave it gives the executives the pretense to say "there are not enough skilled workers for us to continue operating efficiently in the US".
This is how they get their justification for closing/consolidating plants, offshoring jobs, automating jobs, and pulling in more H1B visas to replace us...
Benefits are not going to improve regardless of the company's economic circumstances. Max out your 401k or equivalent as much as possible so you can reach financial independence take control of your own destiny.
I tend to agree with you. Things keep getting worse and worse while we keep looking around as if something will magically change. The truth is that as a nation we have allowed this to happen over the course of decades. Those in power have been able to reconfigure the system completely in their favor by wiping out the unions, buying out the politicians and judges, and then enjoying the deregulation that followed. By doing this they have ensured that our labor laws are weak to non-existent compared to other developed nations. Meanwhile they have "innovated" their way into more wealth by keeping everyone understaffed and overworked, un-vacationed, furloughed, HIPAC'd, and even underinsured with this pi-s poor excuse they call a medical plan...
It's so they don't have to cut a check and cash out your vacaiton when you leave.
Unionize
We get screwed without unions here. Look at us all whining about unlimited leave yet we all know why they’ve done it - and it’s not because it benefits the worker.
My teammates were spread across the globe, and I had to cover for them frequently as they took their 4-6 weeks of vacation each year. HW never contested their right to that time off, as it was mandated by local labor laws in their countries. We can only learn from them.
You may get more days off. But, now you're working so many extra hours that Honeywell is still coming out ahead. Over a decade, I kept track of my hours worked. About three years in, unofficial mandatory extra free time came in. In seven years, I worked over 6 extra months for free. And all it got me was one promotion. I made $1.4k/year more in 2022 than I did in 2012, adjusted for inflation. Just more bricks in the wall and part of the reason I left.
I was shamed when I tried to take vacation... in my case I asked to take 3 days. This recent post hit it right on the money:
"This is why the company has moved towards an "unlimited vacation" policy wherever possible. They pitch it as a system in which you can expect to take vacation whenever you want so long as your work is not negatively impacted, your team/department is not negatively impacted, and your manager approves it. The reality is that it is impossible to meet the criteria above because everyone is overworked and understaffed. This is a system designed to never actually let you take vacation...
Under the old system you earned / accrued "vacation days" as a work benefit. This meant that a person would get paid out those unused vacation days when they left the company. Now with the "unlimited vacation" system you don't actually "earn" vacation days anymore, so when you leave they don't owe you anything...
The "unlimited vacation" system is a gigantic scam..."
I regularly take more vacation than I had previous to this policy.
Make it work for you or leave to a different company if you can’t.
I got shamed by my manager asking for two weeks and only took one.
Taking random days off though, is fine.
I absolutely love the flexibility and take more vacation than ever before.....wait, I left HW 2 years ago, so.....
I take as much vacation (5 weeks) as I did before the change to unlimited.
Never any push back, pretty much automatic approval.
The only thing is not being able to bank and carry over vacation time.
I would like to have 6 or 8 weeks on the books for when I quit but so be it.
Surprisingly it has been okay for anyone not associated with ISC / production.
I am getting 5 to 6 weeks without complaints.