If you work a job, it can feel like burnout is an inevitable consequence. It certainly doesn’t help matters if you’re working too hard, or have a boss who cracks the whip rather than showing empathy.
One CEO is doing his part to combat the image of bosses as taskmasters, by doing one simple thing: encouraging his employees to make, and then follow through, on vacation plans.
Okta is a big, big company.
The tech company employs some 3,500 people. CEO Todd McKinnon co-founded the company in 2009 and has helped usher it into the success it’s become today.
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But McKinnon isn’t just concerned about profits. He also wants his employees to be rested.
The company provides unlimited vacation time.
While this alone seems like a great deal, the company goes a little further than that.
At a recent meeting , McKinnon told his employees about his vacation plans: a nice getaway up to Napa.
McKinnon wanted to know his employees’ vacation plans.
Usually it might be a red flag if your boss asked for something like this, but McKinnon asked employees to do this as a way to encourage them to make time for themselves. About 1,000 employees did indeed message McKinnon with their getaway plans, CNBC reported.
It’s almost unheard of in the tech industry.
Silicon Valley is famous for employee burnout, so it’s fascinating to see a company zig where the others zag.
McKinnon says announcing his plans, and encouraging employees to announce theirs, is an example of modeling behavior.
Okta has also invested in mental health resources to aid its employees.
The company is incredibly flexible with vacation plans.
In the midst of the pandemic, Okta also told its employees that most would be able to permanently work from home and stay away from the office. “We don’t want to grind you down,” explained McKinnon. “It’s not in anyone’s interest.”
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