Pre-cations: Good, bad, or does it even matter?

Tech startups have started offering new hires a “pre-cation.” That is, a paid vacation before starting a new job. Sounds great, right? But a sniff test has over-worked America asking: Is this the ultimate take-home test? You know, the test that’s so impossibly hard your teacher lets you take it home with you.

It’s too soon to tell. The good of it is that some employers genuinely mean it as a way to let you recharge before starting a new job and see it as a way of keeping you at the company for the long haul.

The flip side is employers like Jason Freedman, CEO of San Francisco’s 42Floors, expect workers to, “Yeah, have a great time! And when you get back here, work your ass off.” (Slate)

Our advice: Ask questions. Make sure the perk is meant to keep you motivated and focused instead of a last hurrah before signing your life away. Either way, we’re all about vacations—pre, post, now, later—so consider that pre-cation on us. With or without strings attached, a vacation is a vacation.

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