After four weeks of wine and cheese, mountain biking and river rafting in the Pyrenees, refining her French and spending time with locals between shows, she returned to her office job in Nashville, rejuvenated from her adventures and having challenged herself in ways she had not thought possible.
McCormick is among veteran employees at Emma, a Nashville email marketing firm, who have taken advantage of the company's policy that rewards those who have worked there for five years with a four-week sabbatical. The idea is to let employees explore a passion, a foreign country or a chosen pursuit that weekends or typical vacations don't allow.
"Certainly, to go on a small tour in another country playing music — when I don't do anything like that — was an amazing opportunity," said McCormick, a sales manager whose previous music resume included high school marching band and karaoke. "That was like jumping off a cliff for me."
Emma CEO Clint Smith implemented the policy in 2009 and, seeing no one else take advantage, decided to set an example. In 2010, he and his family went to Spain for four weeks, traveled the country and left work behind entirely.
"Not a single email," he said. "I said, 'If there is an emergency, text me. Otherwise, I'm going to be unplugged.' "
About 10 others have since followed suit. The idea is to help employees achieve the coveted work/life balance and reward them by letting them have new, enriching experiences beyond the office walls.
"We are asking a lot of folks when they are at work," Smith said. "We have high expectations and a lot of things to get done. We also know we are not the only game in people's lives. … We try to be extremely respectful of people themselves and trust they are responsible and mature enough t! o take care of what they need to do at work and also make sure they are taking time to take care of all the rest of it. … The intent is that you go do something fulfilling, maybe even life-changing."
A sense of renewal
While companies in Nashville and around the U.S. have been adding perks over the years to compete for talent — think flexible hours, pingpong breaks, company outings — a four-week break is rare, said Steve Hayes, founder of Brentwood, Tenn.-based recruiting firm the Human Capital Group. The implementation of such options, he said, reflects a growing focus in the workforce on balancing work and life.
"In older generations, you did everything you had to do for your company at the expense of your family," Hayes said. "Younger generations realize there is a balance we need to draw."
While the sabbatical option alone may not tip the scale for prospective new hires, given it takes five years to be eligible, or even make the difference for an employee determining whether to stay, it does send a message about the company's overall philosophy. Combined with other incentives, it may encourage employees to continue to want to invest their talent in the company, Hayes said.
For Emma online sales manager Brooks Alford, a sabbatical meant living at a friend's apartment in Manhattan throughout November and revisiting his interest in improv comedy. He enrolled in a two-week course at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, took a baking class, went to shows, saw old friends and explored a city he had always wanted to experience.
"It was a great way to feel like a local and really get to know the city, but not have to pick up my life and move there," said Alford, who moved to Nashville from Alabama in 2000. "It was so refreshing. I came back with a renewed sense of excitement to do work."
'A unique exhale'
Emma Chief Operating Officer Bo Spessard spent his sabbatical in Floyd County, Va., with his wife, working on his cabin there. Leaving email, texting and ! cellphone! s behind, he spent his four weeks building a roofed, wooden structure with a stone fire pit, plus a stone walkway and a camping space that he uses with his kids. While he used a chain saw when necessary, he mainly worked with his ax and hand tools.
"I wanted to go somewhere where I would not have to worry or think about phones or technology, Internet, things like that," said Spessard, who grew up in that area. "The kind of work that I am in here at Emma and prior to this, being a lawyer, there is a lot of mental work. You are talking to people, and writing emails and letters, but the actual creation of something (physical) is something that I personally enjoy."
After hitting the five-year mark in September, Kelley Kirker, who assists new clients at Emma as a concierge, spent two weeks in Spain in October, traveling with a friend from Madrid to Barcelona to Granada to Seville, drinking sangria, attending flamenco shows and celebrating National Day. Inspired by the art, she picked up watercoloring.
Kirker spent the remainder of her sabbatical exploring Nashville. She refurnished furniture with her father, explored Music City Center, tried new venues and restaurants and had friends over for dinner.
"Any time I have off otherwise, I leave town," she said. "I never have downtime here, in the city I love so much. In some ways I was a tourist in my own town."
During her sabbatical she realized how much she enjoyed interacting with friends, reading and entertaining herself in ways that did not involve her television, so she removed her TV from its central location in her living room. It was one of many discoveries she made during her trip that have influenced her day-to-day life.
"They are giving us the opportunity to have some reflection time and rejuvenate," she said. "There is a unique exhale when you have a month off."
No comments:
Post a Comment