Startups, firms provide extended paid breaks in runup to New Year’s

Bengaluru | New Delhi: As the pandemic winds into another year amid rising Omicron cases, some startups are trying to ensure that, in these stressful times, the New Year starts on a relaxed note for employees.

Fresh unicorns like Eruditus and The Good Glamm group; older ones such as InMobi Group and some smaller startups including Rippl, Dhurina, Raaho, AdYogi and Mesh are giving their entire workforce extended breaks of 4-15 days this year-end, to prioritise employee wellbeing and mental health, and bring them back in 2022 refreshed and rejuvenated.

Beauty unicorn The Good Glamm Group has announced a week-long paid leave for its workforce, while Mumbai-based edtech unicorn Eruditus has given its 2,000-odd employees a holiday for the last fortnight of the year to spend time with friends and family. At the InMobi Group, almost the entire 2,500-strong workforce will be on leave from December 25 to January 2.

“It is of prime importance for us to take care of our hardworking team and their wellbeing. After a year of working tirelessly, we understand that they deserve the time to focus on their personal life,” Kartik Rao, chief people officer, Good Glamm, said.

Measures like these make employees, who are battling Covid fatigue and burnout, know they are appreciated, especially when they are navigating an uncertain phase, say companies.

This year has been exhausting, both on the personal and professional fronts, said Upendra Namburi, cofounder of Rippl, which is offering an extended leave from Christmas to the beginning of January for its employees.

InMobi first gave the year-end time-off last year and found it to be a huge hit with employees. “We’ve had people asking about it from the middle of the year,” chief HR officer Sahil Mathur said.

Among others, Eruditus’ policy offers two weeks of year-end vacation, chief executive Ashwin Damera said. Performance management platform Mesh has announced holidays on December 30-31 which, combined with Saturday-Sunday, will give employees an extended weekend of four days, cofounder Gaurav Chaubey said.

Ecommerce digital ads automation platform AdYogi is giving employees four days’ off. Edtech startup Dhurina has a break from December 25 to January 1, cofounder Sachin Sardana said.

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