Who's Doing it Well? Bumble's People-First Policies
One of the most frequent questions we receive — and try to answer at Holistic — is “Who is doing it well?” It’s always been really informative to hear the good ideas others have. After all, as we say, there’s no IP in inclusion. This feature will highlight creative ideas from other companies. Check out the whole list here or submit your own suggestion below.
Taking time off from work can be more complicated in practice than in theory. The fear of falling behind or worse, the stigma that you aren’t “working as hard” as those who forgo PTO, deters many individuals from taking much needed vacation, bereavement, or sick days, which can be more harmful in the long run when it comes to mental health and burnout. Bumble is breaking down that stigma by creating clear, comprehensive, company-wide time off policies for employees, which is ultimately an act of inclusion and a clear declaration that Bumble cares about the well-being of their employees.
Who: The woman-led dating app, Bumble, is well known for practicing inclusivity in dating, but it has also developed a strong reputation for creating inclusive people-first policies for employees.
What’s the big idea 💡: When it comes to PTO and employee leave, Bumble gave almost all employees a collective week off to help combat burnout during the pandemic this past summer. The collective week off was so successful that the company decided to institutionalize it every year. As a result, Bumble employees will now get a collective two weeks paid leave. In addition, the company also updated its PTO policy to include unlimited PTO with standard minimums for PTO. Standard minimums for unlimited PTO are something we do not see often. These are the official policies:
Two weeks off per year for all employees (offices are closed) in addition to unlimited paid time off
20 days paid time off for victims of domestic violence
15 days paid time off for grief (e.g., miscarriage, family death)
6 months of paid time off for the birth, adoption, or surrogacy of a child (maternity and paternity leave)
Why it works: It is common for employees to forgo taking necessary vacation time for fear of falling behind in their work. Operating from a place of fear is not conducive to fostering a healthy work/life balance. As a result, standard minimums for PTO normalize taking vacation time, which helps incorporate a healthy work/life balance into workplace culture.
(Not so) Hidden Value: What Bumble is doing well here is putting healthy people-first behaviors directly into policies. Healthy behaviors can equal healthy relationships, and as Bumble states, "healthy relationships are central to living a positive, productive life.”
Whitney Wolfe Herd, CEO of Bumble
Congrats on “doing it well,” Bumble!
Written by Katie Merkle