US tech company allows employees 9-day 'rest and recharge' paid leave

Imagine the company asking you to take a nine-day break from work to help you relax without cutting a penny from your salary. This might sound unreal. But realising the importance of short breaks for employees, a lot of companies are adopting this culture. Recently, a US tech company, HackerRank, based in California, announced "rest and recharge" paid leaves for its employees. The software-development firm is now being praised for prioritising employees’ health.

In a LinkedIn post, a picture of the mail was sent by the Californian firm to its employees, asking them to take a break from July 1 to July 9. "We wanted to give you a heads-up that HackerRank will be on a company-wide PTO the first week of July. From July 1 to the 9th, our team and all of HackerRank will be taking a break to rest and recharge," read the email sent by HackerRank to its employees.

Employees welfare is priority

Despite knowing that there might be delays, the company prioritised its employees’ welfare and decided to move ahead with the decision. Also, this break was announced to prevent employees from working from home and addressing all official obligations during the break. The company also emphasised that during this period, one must focus on relaxation and stated that all communication related to work can be handled upon return after July 9.

People gives a shout out in comments

The post has attracted a lot of reactions from people appreciating the company’s move and its initiative towards considering employees’ health. 

A user wrote, "I completely agree with you! It’s great to see companies like HackerRank recognizing the importance of work-life balance and prioritising the well-being of their employees."

Another person said, "Love this, this is work-life balance." 

A user appreciated it and said, "Great initiative! Mental health should always be a priority."

Other companies that announced similar relaxation breaks

This, however, isn't the first time that a company has announced such a thing for its employees. In September last year, an online shopping site called Meesho declared an 11-day paid-off as a "Reset and Recharge Break". 

The payoff started on October 22 and ended on November 1, 2022. Earlier, a tech upskilling startup, Scaler, announced a ten-day "Gratitude Leave" for its employees, which could be available to them at the end of the year, starting from December 21, 2022, to January 1, 2023.