Ask HN: Companies with open vacation policies

I was an early employee in a start-up that had this policy. It felt very ambiguous. There is what people say and what they do. Even though it sounds great, in terms of flexibility and lack of HR stuff to deal with. In practice people tended to take off less time than they would have taken in a larger corporation because there was only one of every role. If you are gone there is really no one to effectively step in for you.

In the future if I go back to being an employee, I would rather have a generous but clear vacation policy.

It has the possibility for over-abuse by some and under-utilization through fear or tendencies to overwork by others.

If I were joining a company that was pitching this as a strong benefit I would want to ask around informally and see whether people were actually supported in taking 2 or 3 week block vacations. If not, then it is a benefit that is actually being taken away under the guise of freedom and generosity,