A study found that 77 percent of professionals have experienced employee burnout at their current job. This will come as no surprise given the gauntlet of crises individuals have had to face over the past 19 months – yet continue to show up for work each day. With these reports of increasing exhaustion, companies are finding new solutions to help their employees cope. Today we examine brands that are giving employees a full work week off to focus on their mental health and tackle this burnout.
LinkedIn led the charge earlier this year in giving employees surprise time off in April. Teuila Hanson, the company’s Chief People Officer, explained that, “We wanted to make sure we could give them something really valuable, and what we think is most valuable right now is time for all of us to collectively walk away.” Following suit, dating service app, Bubble, also gave its employees time off in June to offset workplace stress. It told its 700 person staff in April that they will have a fully paid week to be offline and focus on themselves – in addition to the company’s vacation allowance. Another major company, Hootsuite, publicized that they are “shutting down” for a ‘Wellness Week’. It explained that the communal close allows employees to take off the time without worrying about the typical influx of emails when taking time-off and allows them to fully switch off. More brands, including Nike just this week, are realizing this benefit of giving employees time to relax so they can bring their renewed best and full selves to work.
The private sector is recognizing the added pressures employees face today, understanding that employees are people and need time to recharge. In fact, our research shows that 95 percent of business leaders said that employee health and safety are important for their company to address – with 93 percent of employees saying that due to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s more important to them than ever that their employer cares about them as an individual. Brands must continue to lead with empathy, leaning into caring for the wellbeing and mental health of their staff.