Jo Hunter, the CEO and cofounder of 64 Million Artists let all her employees take leave for the entire month of August -- a paid leave.
"When you treat people well and allow them to follow what's important to them, they'll do good work. From the beginning, I wanted to embed those values in my own company," Hunter told Business Insider. 64 Million Artists helps employees in companies, educational institutions and, and other organisations rediscover their creativity.
The company was following a four-day workweek and remote working during the pandemic but Hunter said she noticed her colleagues were burnt out as the world recovered from it and demand for our creativity workshops increased.
"I'd read Brene Brown's essay about her company giving everyone four weeks off in August and decided to follow suit," Hunter told the publication. She was referring to American professor, author, and podcast host Casandra Brené Brown who is known for her work on leadership. "No emails on phones or computers. Staff would still get paid, but would not work for a whole month."
Speaking about the public reaction to her announcement, the CEO said that "people were shocked". "We announced our August 2022 closure on Twitter and people were shocked. I was surprised by the public's reaction. Having worked in creative spaces throughout my career, I'm used to thinking outside the box and taking risks. So, to me, this was a normal response to the pandemic," she told Business Insider.
But did the company suffer due to the month-long holiday?
"There weren't any significant financial downsides because we work with schools, universities, and community services that slow down in the summer," Hunter said. "There is never much public-facing work for us in August – so not working felt pretty easy. There's no way we could do this during January for example, that is our busiest season."
When asked if the decision to take annual month-long breaks has made the company popular among job seekers, she added, "It's definitely a pull for employees. We tend to get between 150 and 300 applications when we post a new opening."
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