I haven't experienced what Mike E has in terms of people asking for 6 months of paid time off shortly after accepting a position; however I do agree that unlimited PTO is designed to benefit the employer vs an employee:
- nobody in their right mind will even consider abusing the system so not to jeopardize their position at the company and simply because realistically not many people can afford to hand off their responsibilities for an extended period of time;
- if an employee is released / decides to leave - no payment required for unused time off;
- from psychological point of view: when given full control of the schedule and responsibilities, people tend to be more productive / have a heightened sense of loyalty towards their employer.
I work in finance, husband works in a tech company. I worked nights when I was visiting my dying father in a foreign country (13 hour time zone difference), husband hasn't taken a full day off since 2020. Both have unlimited PTO. I even have additional bereavement leave for up to 3 weeks. But yeah, it's a total scam.