CEO's No-Questions-Asked Leave Approval Wins Online Applause

A founder and CEO of a digital marketing agency recently took to LinkedIn to share how he reacted when one of his new employees asked for time off. Tom Hunt, CEO of Fame, said that he "immediately approved" their leave request and also asked the employee not to explain, "why he was taking" it.

"A new team member asked me to approve his holiday. I immediately approved it. He then went on to explain why he was taking the holiday," he writes. "I don't need to know the details. I hired you to do a job and I trust you to get it done. You choose how to get your work done."

He further said how he "doesn't need to know" why someone is late for work or even leaving early. Hunt says that his decision to do that comes from the trust he had in his team members. "Flexible work is the future," he concluded. 

Since the post was shared on LinkedIn, it has garnered more than 89,000 reactions and has received close to 6000 comments. A user writes, "I agree with flexibility and believe in courtesy and communication. Letting staff/leadership (I see this as a two-way street) know that you are running late, need to leave early, etc., helps the team know what to expect, enables the team to adapt more easily (if needed), and opens up communication lines for everyone." Another user writes, "Companies have a mindset they are paying for 9-5 and that if you are doing the job in less time then they need less resource or owe you less money."

Many even applauded the CEO for his new approach but cited the limitations, "Yes, I agree. Such a refreshing approach, but sometimes people want to share why they are doing something because they need to share too. It can be a case of 'I need the day off tomorrow...' or 'I'm going to be late tomorrow' and they are waiting for the why. This then allows them to share something they need to share."

"It is a fine balance between needing the detail because you want to control, and needing the detail because you sense they need to care," the commentator adds. In another post on X, formerly known as Twitter, user @localanxiousbae wrote, "Normalize not telling your boss what your day off is for."

Keni Dominguez, a career coach and workplace culture strategist told HuffPost that choosing to spend your vacation or Paid Time off (PTO) is the employee's choice and does not require any explanation. "It doesn’t matter if you’re planning a vacation, taking a staycation, headed to a doctor’s appointment or procedure, taking time to care for a sick kid, or just need time away to recharge from work," she added. She further emphasizes the need to normalize taking leaves just to rest and not "guilt people into feeling like if they take time off, they’re exhibiting laziness."

As per Business News Daily, finding a company with a good culture is the top priority for job seekers and therefore, paying attention to these things can be beneficial for the company in ways like attracting quality staff.