As employee burnout has become more prevalent during the pandemic, Google’s idea of declaring September 4 as a one-time paid holiday for its employees brings much relief. Today, that is, September 4, is being enjoyed as a ‘collective wellbeing’ holiday, by all employees, in order to reduce stress and relax.
This additional holiday ahead of Labour Day, which falls on September 7 in the US, will transform into an extended weekend for the employees.
All full-time employees and interns are eligible for this holiday. However, employees who are considered temporary or are vendors or contractors do not qualify for this day off.
The tech giant strongly encourages its employees to take this day off and has encouraged managers to actively support their teams to reprioritise work commitments in order to do so.
However, if a manager identifies an “urgent business-critical need” wherein an employee has to work at the last minute, then she or he can take the next available working day off.
The move is just one of the ways to extend support to the employees, who will be working remotely until at least mid-2021, due to the ongoing contagion.
This extra holiday is tied to the pandemic and will not be added to the annual calendar, which means that it is only specific to 2020, to support Googlers’ wellbeing amidst the stress of the pandemic and its after effects.
While some employees were willing to take some other day as a holiday, the Company has cited in an internal message that it is not an option.
Earlier, Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer, Google, had asked employees to take a day off on May 22, to address WFH-related burnout.
