Lessons from HackerOne’s First Recharge Week – Source:www.hackerone.com

For a digital first company working hard across multiple time zones, it’s easy for employees to easily burn out. So HackerOne took a chance on something new to prioritize our team’s mental health and overall well-being by helping employees find a convenient time to unplug. 

Our first-ever Recharge Week – July 1–5, 2024—aimed at giving most company employees a simultaneous week off to rest, pursue hobbies, and spend time with loved ones, free from the demands of work emails and deadlines.

How did it go? We got our survey results and want to share our process and learnings.

The Reason for a Recharge Week 

This is not a new idea in the workplace, but a new one for us: one week when most employees can unplug, rest, and rejuvenate. The inspiration came from observing how hard everyone worked and feedback about burnout across our global workforce. 

We asked ourselves, what if we could hit the pause button collectively? Could we foster a more energized, creative, and motivated team? 

How We Did It 

Planning was key. We picked the U.S. Fourth of July week because most of our employees and customers are based in the U.S., and it’s typically a quiet week.

We worked closely with all departments to ensure a smooth transition into and out of Recharge Week. We have business-critical roles and functions that needed to be available, so we worked with leaders to balance time off and shift days.

We then communicated—a lot. Teams assigned business-critical on-call employees, and we posted the information on Confluence, our internal wiki. Those people were available for any emergency needs. Otherwise, everything else could wait until July 8.

What We Learned

• Communication is key: Clear communication before, during, and after Recharge Week was essential. It helped manage expectations and reduce anxiety about work piling up.
• Work with people leaders: We created a strong sense of accountability by giving people leaders permission to manage their teams and encourage collective time off.
• The timing isn’t always perfect: Because we scheduled the event during a U.S. holiday week, it was challenging for employees in other countries to coordinate their time off with their summer vacations.
• Lead by example: Our executive and extended leadership teams ensured they also unplugged and reinforced the importance of this collective time off.
• Rest is productive: Many employees reported returning with fresh ideas and renewed enthusiasm for projects. 
• The ripple effect: This break benefited our employees and positively affected their families and communities, showcasing the far-reaching impact of our actions on well-being.

“This gave me time to spend with my family and helped me just turn off work mode. I was able to do everything I needed and not have to worry about quickly returning to my laptop. It also made me excited to come back to work and get back to my daily routine.” – HackerOne employee comment through an anonymous survey 

Moving Forward 

The benefits of rested employees—increased productivity, creativity, and overall happiness—are too significant to ignore. We haven’t decided yet if we’ll do this again, but our employees gave us feedback that some roles are just too critical to be away and need more business support.

For companies considering a similar initiative, our key takeaway is this: Investing in your team’s well-being will return tenfold, reflected in their work and the positive shift in workplace culture. Every company and culture is different, so experiment with a few options to see what people like. And get that feedback!