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Ask HN: Can I start a tech company with mandatory 2 month yearly sabbaticals?

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Ask HN: Can I start a tech company with mandatory 2 month yearly sabbaticals?

#1

Post by entityresq »

I really believe people need time to unwind and explore all aspects of life and interests and tech companies right now might have the luxury to afford us the same.

Vacations are great, but never cut it fully. Importantly, unlimited pto never works in the workers favor for some reason.

One of the ideas I’ve been mulling is mandating a vacation and a long one at that. I’ve heard many industries already take a fairly long summer break in EU, so I suppose this is similar.

One worry I’ve heard is our work will be delayed due to this break but maybe it won’t? I feel rejuvenated good engineers would be more productive in 10 months than worn down ones in 12.

There’s also the practical logistics of running an always on service, but I feel like for most tech companies this should be doable with a skeleton support staff (even if that) especially if we freeze the code weeks before we leave work.

Would love anyones thoughts on how this might work and what the pitfalls would be (and also to ask if this would entice the best engineers as much as I believe).

Re: Ask HN: Can I start a tech company with mandatory 2 month yearly sabbaticals?

#2

Post by sn0w_crash »

You can do whatever you want just know that the market will decide if you can do this. In a few ways:

A. Capital - Investors will be highly skeptical of this approach. Is there a CEO they can invest who does not give people 2 months off? If so, they’ll probably send their money that way.

B. Competition - Your competitors will be delighted to learn that your workforce is 10-15% less active than they are.

C. Recruiting - yes, many will be excited about the prospect of so much time off. But experienced employees will be skeptical of this approach and may see it as a risk. There are also people who gasp do not want to take 2 months off and enjoy working throughout the year.

Again, as leader you are free to do what you want but for every major decision you can ask yourself a simple question - does this help accelerate or slow our revenue?

Re: Ask HN: Can I start a tech company with mandatory 2 month yearly sabbaticals?

#3

Post by greenyoda »

I think that most people would find it hard to schedule two months of continuous vacation, since their spouses/partners would not be able to take vacations on the same schedule. Also, many people care for children or elders, and their schedules are constrained by these responsibilities.

As someone's employer, you shouldn't presume to know what vacation schedule is best for their mental health or productivity. Some people may be happier if they can take shorter breaks more often. If you want to give your employees two months of vacation time, that's fine, but let them decide how and when to make use of those days rather than imposing your own preferences on them.

Re: Ask HN: Can I start a tech company with mandatory 2 month yearly sabbaticals?

#4

Post by entityresq »

sn0w_crash wrote: post #2

You can do whatever you want just know that the market will decide if you can do this. In a few ways: A. Capital - Investors will be highly skeptical of this approach. Is there a CEO they can invest who does not give people 2 months off? If so, they’ll probably send their money that way. B. Competition - Your competitors will be delighted to learn that your workforce is 10-15% less active than they are. C. Recruiting…

The first point is definitely true - for sure, this can’t be possible for the first year (or even two) of the startup anyway since we need to get a viable product off the ramp and garner enough interest and hopefully revenue. I agree that we can’t compromise on overall productivity.

Which brings me to the next point which is that I do strongly believe that productivity will not take a massive hit overall - as much as managers like to think engineers are like factory workers assembling a toaster, my personal observation has been that we’d get things done when they are needed (within reason) and would subconsciously pad out the time when we can afford to.

A long sabbatical would make me immensely happy and I think more focused when I’m actually working. Importantly if we all prepare for the same full on break that’s scheduled that’s more manageable than individual engineers taking time off at random intervals and having everyone cover for them.

Just still spitballing so for sure all comments are appreciated.

Re: Ask HN: Can I start a tech company with mandatory 2 month yearly sabbaticals?

#5

Post by entityresq »

greenyoda wrote: post #3

I think that most people would find it hard to schedule two months of continuous vacation, since their spouses/partners would not be able to take vacations on the same schedule. Also, many people care for children or elders, and their schedules are constrained by these responsibilities. As someone's employer, you shouldn't presume to know what vacation schedule is best for their mental health or productivity. Some pe…

We will still have all legally mandated vacations available for sure (which is definitely limited in the US but still). I don’t see any other way around it. But I assume we will only have the legally mandated minimums in this regard. One possibility I am thinking is If the position they’re applying for allows them to work when most of the company is off (extremely productive IC or product manager for example) then they could flexibly take the sabbatical whenever.

As for matching schedules, children already have summers off, sure the spouses might not have the time off but doesn’t mean this can hurt? It’s only on top of standard vacation time.

Re: Ask HN: Can I start a tech company with mandatory 2 month yearly sabbaticals?

#6

Post by npalli »

One downside of a long 2 month sabbatical is the startup cost of getting back into the productive mode could take some time as things would be forgotten. I suspect there is a inverted U for productivity and length of break in your job. A better strategy could be to have weekly break every quarter or so. Employees will have a pulse on their work and aligns well with others who have to match the break schedule.

Re: Ask HN: Can I start a tech company with mandatory 2 month yearly sabbaticals?

#8

Post by entityresq »

npalli wrote: post #6

One downside of a long 2 month sabbatical is the startup cost of getting back into the productive mode could take some time as things would be forgotten. I suspect there is a inverted U for productivity and length of break in your job. A better strategy could be to have weekly break every quarter or so. Employees will have a pulse on their work and aligns well with others who have to match the break schedule.

This sounds like a good idea as well!

Re: Ask HN: Can I start a tech company with mandatory 2 month yearly sabbaticals?

#9

Post by giaour »

The education sector has found a way to make it more or less work, though of course many teachers/professors/school staff work through the summer (but not necessarily on their academic year duties). It helps that the rest of society has an expectation that students and teachers will have summers "off," so supporting industries can work around that particular schedule. You might want to consider aligning the mandated sabbaticals you mention with school breaks.
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