Here in Australia you have to give a full time employee a minimum of four weeks (paid), which accrues if unused. So somebody at a company with unlimited vacation would be no worse off of they never took holidays than someone who worked at a company with the regular 4 weeks.
I am Australian working for an unlimited vacation company in the US. Knowing that vacation days won't be paid out if I leave the company helps me to remember to take days off.
With unlimited time off there's no longer any reason to stockpile days for that giant trip I keep putting off or to think of vacation days as being money that my employer owes me.
Before leaving the US I had 6 weeks annual leave, 4 rostered days off, 13 public holidays and usually a few extra days of stand down when the office was closed over Christmas (call it 50 days off).
Even coming from that I don't feel worse off now that I have unlimited time off.
> Most Japanese get around 3 weeks of annual leave per year - but each day expires after 24 months.
> It is quite common for leave to expire.
Japan has the same problem as the US in this case, your worth is tied to your work, the more it appears you're working hard, the more worth (and self-worth) you feel you have.
Here in Australia you have to give a full time employee a minimum of four weeks (paid), which accrues if unused. So somebody at a company with unlimited vacation would be no worse off of they never took holidays than someone who worked at a company with the regular 4 weeks.