Yahoo Finance LinkedIn employees to get week off for well-being
Employees of professional social media network LinkedIn will get a week off as part of a well-being initiative allowing them to avoid burnout and recharge, the firm said.
The Microsoft-owned (MSFT) company said that the "RestUp!" week, which starts on Monday 5 April is aimed at giving nearly all of its 15,900 full-time workers time off for their well-being.
LinkedIn told AFP news agency that there is "something magical about the entire company taking a break at the same time" such as not returning to "an avalanche of unanswered" internal emails.
It said that it will provide workers who may feel isolated the option of taking part in daily activities such as volunteering for worthy causes through "random acts of kindness."
"A core team of employees will continue to work for the week, but they will be able to schedule time off later,"
Staff at the company are not expected to begin returning to their offices until September this year. LinkedIn plans to make it standard practice to let them work from home as much as half of the time.
The coronavirus pandemic has upended the world of work, with many companies offering much more flexibility in their office models since the onset of the crisis.
Other social media companies have made the choice to allow staff to work from home. Twitter (TWTR) has extended remote working indefinitely.
READ MORE: Nationwide says 13,000 staff can work from home even after pandemic
Many businesses across several sectors have also changed their standard working practices.
In March, UK bank Nationwide (NBS.L) said its 13,000 office-based employees can do their jobs from anywhere in the UK even after the pandemic is over.
Similarly, HSBC (HSBA.L) said in February that it plans to radically slash its office footprint in the coming years as it cuts staff and moves to an "agile" way of working post-COVID.
Meanwhile, Lloyds Bank (LLOY.L) is set to reduce its office space by a fifth as part of a push towards flexible working.
Alongside prompting the workforce to question where they want to work, COVID-19 has also given rise to a strong sense that the traditional 9-5 is outdated.
There has also been a rise in freelancers in the UK. A report by freelance online jobs marketplace PeoplePerHour showed that over 227,000 Brits applied as freelancers in 2020 amid the pandemic, up 60% from 2019.
The survey of 1,000 respondents found that one in four Brits have turned to freelancing due to loss of employment as COVID-19 hit took a toll on almost every sector in the economy, with London having the highest increase (67%) for freelancer applications.
One in 10 said they made the move because they had been furloughed.
About 52% of this group said they had done so to earn more money while 17% said it was to take their career in a new direction.
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