Most businesses are seasonal or follow some fluctuating pattern in terms of productivity. From a mix of industry events and deliverables emerges an annual schedule that sets the pace in an organization. Or so it should.
In my previous role as CEO we institutionalized unlimited time off throughout and two company shutdowns per calendar year. One in the lead-up to Labor Day because no one makes big decisions in August, and another at the end of the year.
Do. Not. Email. Me.
It didn't always work out perfectly but I like to think it conveyed a sense of respect and appreciation to send everyone off with the message: go travel, spend time with your family. Great job. See you in two weeks.
Post-acquisition it became clear that this is not how most of the world operates. Which is strange, because in a knowledge-based business your team is your most valuable asset. Lose an analyst, and it sets you back 18 months to hire someone new and train them. Tired people get sick. Miserable people do crappy work. Morale is what holds the ship together.
It is surprising to me that *suddenly* publishers are doling out downtime. Riot announced it is “taking a week off” to recover from its recent expansion into several new projects (e.g., Valorent). And good for them. But it does seem a wee bit tardy. Why now? Why not when League was printing money?
And following an investigation by Polygon, Epic granted its workers a two-week break. CEO Tim Sweeney is a champion of sustainable ecosystems: he has purchased 40,000 acres of land to protect it from grabby real estate developers and has been very vocal about Apple and Valve’s 30% cut. Not a great look to see HR policy change only after being publicly exposed.
The most likely culprit here is the spectacular growth of both these firms and the industry at large. Epic's valuation has more than tripled from $5bn to $17.8bn in just two years time. These levels of success make it impossible to steer any organization without making mistakes. Sometimes, the worst that can happen to a firm is success.
What all this newfound downtime should tell you is that, by and large, creative firms depend on talent. As the industry continues to expand and games bleed into all other forms of entertainment, attracting and retaining skilled, experienced people will become an even more important competitive advantage. Employing seasoned creatives and business managers that have professional discipline but lack ego will be key to success.
To accomplish this, creative firms will have to show more love. Like shareholders, employees also enjoy predictable returns. An outlook on upside is a strong motivator to stay, certainly, but we also want those vacation-based dividends in the meantime.
Enjoy your time off! You’ve earned it.