Here’s to Applauding Bumble’s Step To Give a Week Off to Their Employees To Deal With Burnout.
With the pandemic, our offices moved into our rooms, making things more stressful and often leading to burnout. Here’s what Bumble did to help their employees cope.
Dating app Bumble made the headlines last month when it announced a one-week paid vacation for all its 700 employees. Bumble’s customer base grew this year significantly, thanks to the pandemic, and the company also made a successful debut on the New York stock market, which contributed to the increased workload. The employees worked tirelessly so that people sitting miles away can connect with each other and not lose their sanity amidst the lockdown. The staff took this time to recover from the stress and rejuvenate themselves.
They called it “our collective burnout,” a state of mental and physical exhaustion caused by excessive stress and long working hours. The World Health Organization (WHO) has categorized burnout as an “occupational phenomenon.” They explained it as “… a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
Earlier this year, Founder and CEO, Whitney Wolfe Herd, 31, became the youngest female founder to take her company public. She made a statement when she held her young son on the Nasdaq floor during the event. Employees all over the world hailed and welcomed the decision by the company. The corporate industry is known for its brutal work policies, but with this move, we can expect Bumble to become a pioneer of change. This is not it. The company is deeply concerned about the well-being of its employees. They provide manicure and spa services to them and flexible working hours as long as the work gets done. Their recent step is a huge add-on to these current benefits.
Talking about the step, a Bumble spokesperson said, “Like everyone, our global team has had a very challenging time during this pandemic. We wanted to give our teams around the world an opportunity to shut off and focus on themselves for a week,” as reported by The Indian Express
In a tweet, which is no longer available, Bumble’s Head of Editorial Content Clare O’Connor said Wolfe Herd had “correctly intuited our collective burnout.” “In the U.S. especially, where vacation days are notoriously scarce, it feels like a big deal,” O’Connor added in the tweet.
Only a month earlier, in April, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn also announced a one-week paid off for its 15,900 full-time employees. Employees were given the “Rest Up” week to focus on their well-being. For employees who might feel isolated during this time, LinkedIn hooked them up with volunteering activities to make a difference.
In the Indian context, Feminism In India, a digital intersectional feminist media organization, stopped its operations for a week in April. They prioritized the physical and mental health of their employees, and thereby, issuing them mandatory leaves.
Rather than following the rat race to success, many companies in the past have taken this approach to boost productivity and morale among their workers. They put employees’ well-being over profit, and we hail such moves. Work-related stress has been a major contributor to the rise in mental health issues in recent years. A week off without responding to a slew of emails can sometimes do the trick to help stressed-out working professionals.
It is a gesture that suggests the employers care about their employees and, in turn, win their loyalty to keep talent at the company for a longer period of time. Following Bumble’s and other corporate giant’s footsteps, we can expect more companies to make a move in this direction.
Work-related stress can make you feel exhausted, irritated, and even worthless at times. This is called career burnout. Read this blog to know more about it. You can also check our other blogs on the website. Join the Fuzia community today and connect with some like-minded people. Sign up here.
Image credits: Google