Alloy has worked tirelessly over the years to build an inclusive company culture that works for everyone, no matter where they are in their career or where they are in their personal lives.
From embracing workplace flexibility before COVID made it a necessity, to providing unprecedented professional development and networking opportunities to innovative compensation models to regular agency offsites and corporate social responsibility initiatives, our culture is not only unique to tech PR, but it is conducive to fulfilling all employee’s passions, values and motivations. It’s just one of the reasons why Alloy continues to exceed the industry average in employee retention.
One perk that everyone loves is the six-year sabbatical. That is, between every employee’s sixth and seventh years of work, a fully paid month-long leave is given (with no expectation of a book or some fancy research to be conducted during that time).
Everything but excess sleep
Due to the pandemic, I waited until the very end of my sixth year to take advantage of my sabbatical. And the timing was just right - vaccinations were way up, and as such, restrictions were narrowing. I got to see my closest friends and family in California, Colorado, and Florida, many of them for the first time in over a year. My wife and I escaped to Mexico without the toddler for a few days. We bought a new house. And I finally got the dent in my car fixed.
While we couldn’t take that big trip to Japan or Australia like we mused about pre COVID, my time off was perfect. It was a mix of productive and relaxing combined with it being practical and cathartic. Would I have liked to get a little more sleep, sure! But as anyone with a young kid can attest, extra sleep is just not in the cards.
And, as a bonus, news of my time off made all my friends and family super jealous. Variations of “that’s freakin awesome” and “my company would never do that” were far and away the two most common reactions by everyone I came across.
Sabbatical benefits cannot be underestimated
There’s no denying the reality that no matter how much you love your job and the people you work with, there comes a point when you need to hit reset. A time when you need to stop worrying about clients and billability and management processes. A time when you need to think about yourself and your family, and not about content marketing or about accrual forms - or whatever your work responsibilities are.
When most people hit this wall, their response is to seek out another job, even when they like their employer more so than not. It’s because most PR agencies (and businesses in general) don’t offer an opportunity to truly reset. A lot of companies lose great talent this way, either because they aren’t empathetic enough, smart enough or simply don’t care enough to give employees the time and space they need to recharge when they most need it.
A 2019 study published in the National Library of Medicine confirmed the benefits of sabbaticals for both individuals and their employers. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, the study found that “those who took sabbaticals experienced, upon return, a decline in stress and an increase in psychological resources and overall well-being. What is surprising, however, is that those positive changes often remained long after the sabbatical takers returned to work. This suggests that not only do the rested employees benefit from time away — the organization benefits as well.”
Alloy is proud to be one of the 4% of companies offering employee sabbaticals. And after six years, all employees have earned the right to spend some dedicated (and paid) time off to live life to its fullest. To relax and recharge. To take a break from the pace. To us, sabbatical is as much a perk as it is a necessity. Happy talent, happy clients, after all.
Want to join a tech PR powerhouse redefining culture while working with innovators across Cloud, FinTech, HealthIT and cybersecurity? Visit our careers page to learn about the many open roles with the Uncommon Crew.