How, when and where we do business has changed dramatically. And as we transformed, aligning our licensing policy with a more flexible model was a natural next step.” This is documented in an internal document. Microsoft, referring to its American workers, by normalizing unlimited paid leave from January 16th. “You will no longer officially record the time of your vacation,” the document says, citing business insider. The relevant ones are mentioned in the publication on moneyreview.gr. Those wishing to be absent will still need the approval of their superiors. Also in April, Microsoft employees in the US with unused vacation until January 15 will receive compensation. As reported by Business Insider, employees will have ten additional public holidays and will be able to take days off as well as sick days for physical or mental health reasons. They will also be able to be absent for their jury duty and in cases of death of loved ones. Effective January 16, 2023, “Microsoft is redesigning its vacation policy to be more flexible,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Business Insider.

However, due to differences in laws and regulations in other countries, there will still be a limited vacation period for Microsoft employees outside the United States.

It’s worth noting that Microsoft has experimented with labor rights in the past, such as introducing a four-day work week at its offices in Japan in August 2019. The results were impressive: office productivity increased by 39.9% compared to August 2018. It is also among the tech giants that have enabled remote work for most of their employees and most of the week. In fact, last year the company tried to get its employees back into the office for at least half the work week. However, he admitted a few months later that he “may not be able to restore ‘normal life’ to the office this year.”