At CHANI we close our office for seven weeks every year: one week in the spring, two weeks in the summer and four weeks during the winter holidays. (If you’re reading this, we’ll be offline for spring break.)
Everything we do is first and foremost in the interest of our team. We have a lot to achieve as a company, and we can only do that if our team thrives in the long term. But/and my entire life’s work is focused on systems change (I have an exact Saturn-Uranus conjunction in the 1st House to thank for that: Saturn = systems and Uranus = disruption), so I would be lying if I said I didn’t have hoped that other workplaces would see the value of our practices and adopt the practices that work for them.
At our first staff meeting of the year, people on the team talked about how meaningful this regular time off is to them, and we talked about ways to share their stories with others. The purpose of this letter is to do just that.
The 5 most important reasons why we regularly close our office:
- We view these periods as opportunities for collective peace. Everything has cycles – including the moon, our bodies and our work. When we rest, we regenerate. When the whole team rests, we relax together again.
- If everyone is out of the office at the same time, no one has to worry about coming back from vacation to their colleagues’ 879 emails. This stress does not provide effective rest.
- No rest = burnout. Burnout = high turnover. High turnover = bad economy. It costs employers a lot of more to lose employees, rehire new people and then train them, than to invest in sustainable workplace practices.
- While we offer unlimited PTO and vacation pay to encourage our employees to take time off, we do not operate within a broader culture where it is normal to take more than a few days or a week here and there (I grew up in Greater Britain, where two-week holidays were standard). To expect our team to ask for as much time off as they need is folly.
- Have you ever known someone who was high functioning between mid-December and mid-January?
Additional notes for employers:
- You may be reading this and thinking, “Good for you; our business model doesn’t allow everyone to leave at the same time.” At CHANI we want to be responsive to customers and app users at all times, which means our customer service team takes breaks in shifts. For examplehalf of our customer service team is off for the entire month of December, and the other half for the entire month of January. It’s not a completely perfect system where every member of our team has the exact same amount of free time, but that’s okay.
- You might also read this and be shocked at the thought last seven weeks out. If so, what feels achievable? A week? Two weeks? We didn’t start it the full seven weeks – we got there gradually.
- I’m convinced that most employers want to build thriving workplaces, but we’re all conditioned to do what everyone else is doing. When that occurs to you, does it feel like logic that you want to be guided by?
- If you have questions or concerns about offering more time off to your employees, I’m happy to help you think through these challenges. Send an email to info@chani.comand your questions will come to me.
Wills from the CHANI team
On the impact of office closures:
“I am so grateful for this time and these forced breaks! I love my job and I love working! I certainly wouldn’t be taking so much time off if this wasn’t an entire office shutdown. It’s even better than taking other planned vacations because everyone is free – not just me – and I don’t have to wonder how things are going back at work while I’m away. Our office closures give me the opportunity to truly rest and connect meaningfully with friends and family.”
On the importance of slowing down:
“It is essential to rest. Take a break. To return to yourself outside of work. To remember how different the hours of a day can be depending on what you do. To spend time with family, with yourself, without a screen and outdoors where possible. This time gives me a chance to check in with myself, to check in, to see what books I want to read, or what practices I want to adopt. I really appreciate this time. Its consequences are profound.”
About the urgency of unlearning:
“The ability to rest deeply is cathartic, to say the least. I went through some internal shame dynamics this past break, but I had the tools and time to return to my center and even noticed that it had been moved to make more room for this new, relaxed me.
When you regain balance:
“There are so many elements in life that naturally fall by the wayside in order to keep a grip on work and practical matters all year round. On weekends it is difficult to get to the roots of more subtle problems or dreams. Having what feels like a real abundance of time allows a lot of things to come to the surface creatively and psychologically. I can make great progress in matters of great importance in my life and accumulate my blessings.”
On learning to be present again:
“These periods give me the opportunity to step out of work mode and be fully present with my family. Eventually I withdraw from work completely, but it takes a while to get to that point. Then I can remember things and people I love outside of work.”
If you are interested in joining the CHANI team, please view our open positions here.
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