Study after study comes out and says that rest, relaxation, recharging is critical to
keeping employees creative and engaged, and yet I'm surprised by how many businesses don't
set up their policies in a way that really support that.
I can feel the difference in myself when I take adequate time to sleep, to rest, to actually
take a vacation every now and then versus when it's just to go, go, go.
And so in terms of policies that I've seen the effective obviously there's a fair amount
of the debate right now within the technology communities in particular around unlimited
vacation because I think that it can be used for good or for evil based on your situation.
The for good is more obvious.
These are companies that tell people look, we need you to get your work done; we need
you to behave in a responsible manner but we're not going to be tracking your vacation
time.
So if you need a Friday here, a Monday there, a half-day here, a week there, go do that.
Often the best companies these days are giving guidelines as well.
So they're saying most people take at least two full weeks plus four to eight days throughout
the rest of the quarter, et cetera, whatever it is.
Companies that have taken it in another direction, we've seen companies where unlimited vacation
means you can have it whenever you want it but don't you dare I have it, which I think
is incredibly counterproductive, both for retention and just honestly for productivity
and creativity and engagement.
Some other creative strategies that we've seen, I'm a huge fan of sabbaticals.
Larger companies have done these for a while; we're starting to see them among smaller companies.
We actually just instituted one at The Muse for us it's after five years of working with
the company we provide either a month paid for an employee to go do whatever they want,
or if somebody for whatever reason would prefer it they also have the option of two weeks
plus a stipend.
I don't remember exactly what it is but the idea is that it would be enough to take a
family on a really nice trip.
And the idea is that five years is a long time, that's a really long time.
And I think as an employer if you want to thank and honor and respect that commitment
that someone has given to you what better way to do that then to really give them a
chance to take a break.
So few of us get that in our day-to-day and sometimes people will leave your jobs just
to have a period of time.
And so I think being able to do that and still go back to a company that you love is really
powerful.
I know Intel a while back used to do that every seven years just having something that
I think acknowledges the relationship between company and an individual, a human, and allows
them, kind of celebrates them for who they are, gives them the space and time to engage
in other commitments, family, travel, whatever it is, I think is really powerful.
And again, that's not going to be feasible to for everyone, but I think at the heart
it starts with for a manager, for an employer really thinking what is the best that I can
provide right now and how do I encourage my team to take time off so that when we're tackling
a big problem we're all fresh and we're all really excited about figuring it out.
I think we're moving away from the workplace where people have to be butts in the seats
from 9:00 to 5:00 and if they need to leave for a doctors appointment or because their
kid is sick or maybe they're just having a really challenging day and it would be better
for them to leave and finish up that work later, I think that it's really important
to support your employees in being whole humans and do your best to let them do that.
So yes if that means that there may be a little bit of personal life that intrudes into work,
you know, we're all connected to our smart phones 24/7 and for many people work intrudes
to the personal life.
Obviously I'm not talking about every job.
There are roles for which exceptions are necessary or which people's presence is mandatory, but
I think when you can really allow your team the trust and the freedom to manage their
work and their personal life and trust that as long as they're getting their work done
the fact that there may be a small amount of blending isn't necessarily a bad thing
and I think ultimately can make people that much more committed to you as a company because
you understand that they are whole people; they have other lives.
It's that flexibility that I think we see as a very strong driver for a lot of both
people who are deciding what company to go to and also obviously retention whether to
stay or whether to take an offer from a recruiter, a former colleague or somebody else.