A new survey released today by Getaway revealed the importance of employees taking free time, as half (50%) of all employed Americans believe that free time allows them to decompress from the stresses and pressures of their life, and 2 in 5 (40%) say having free time helps them strengthen relationships with their family, friends and romantic partners. Despite the benefits that free time has, the majority of employed Americans (83%) report they face at least one obstacle to finding free time, such as feeling there’s something urgent that requires their attention, fear of letting their team, clients or customers down, feeling they need to work all the time to advance their career, or thinking they aren’t good enough if they don’t work all the time. The survey also found that 1 in 4 employed Americans feel that even when they do take free time, like vacation, they still need to be accountable at work, and younger employees are even more likely to feel this way (Gen Z: 33%, Millennials: 25%, Gen X: 26%, Boomers: 16%). Getaway is combating this through collective rest and shutting down business operations entirely.
“Employee burnout as a result of the lack of work-life balance in our country is a problem that runs deeper than the past year, and it requires more than a one-time fix,” said Jon Staff, CEO and Founder of Getaway. “Labor Week is not only a way to thank our teams who have been working tirelessly to keep all sides of the business running smoothly, but also a way to cement our commitment to being part of a cultural shift to better work-life balance where free time is encouraged and celebrated. For Getaway to be true to its mission and vision – that free time is a right, and a ritual worth protecting – we need to practice what we preach. We are taking this week to prioritize and celebrate all of our workers and the people who make our business possible.”
Getaway was founded in 2015 as a result of Staff’s own work stress and burnout. Getaway’s tiny cabins were designed to be a space for undistracted time that allows guests to slow down from their busy routines, disconnect from work and technology, and reconnect to themselves and their loved ones. With Labor Week, Getaway is reimagining Americans’ relationship with work, recognizing the hard work that employees put in year-round deserves to be celebrated longer than one day, and encouraging all employees to honor their free time. Getaway is investing in collective rest initiatives like Labor Week and encourages other businesses to do the same.
The Labor Week initiative is an extension of Getaway’s ongoing commitment to providing work-life balance for employees:
- Getaway implemented a permanent remote work policy for its HQ team to better support employees’ home lives and is encouraging employees to work in a place that inspires them and makes them happy.
- All Getaway employees receive 20% off of annual working days – the equivalent of a four-day work week.
- As a hospitality company, committing to a standard schedule is even more nuanced, and the company recognizes some employees will have to work nights, weekends, and holidays to ensure a great guest experience. To balance this, Getaway offers one Friday off a month, called a “Getaday,” which acts like a floating holiday.
- The company gives 20 mandatory vacation days to all full time employees which they must take annually. Research shows that people are more creative and productive when they take time off. To incentivize employees to take their days, vacation time missed is noted in performance reviews.
- Getaway respects colleagues’ off days and hours, encouraging team members to stay offline during their off time and requiring them to set an autoresponder so they are less tempted to jump into their inbox while on vacation.
“It’s exciting to be at the vanguard of a fast-changing culture. Having time off to look forward to is such a motivator for all of us, however we choose to spend it,” said Nick Authenrieth, Northeast Regional Director at Getaway. “That this luxury also applies to all of our part-time employees is totally unprecedented in most of our work lives, especially in hospitality. I am very grateful to watch Getaway continue to evolve, and always for the better.”
In 2020, Getaway saw a 150% increase in bookings year-over-year and nearly 100% occupancy on its existing portfolio as people looked for a way to safely travel to socially distant destinations during COVID-19. Earlier this year, Getaway announced a $41.7 million Series C funding round led by Certares, with continued support from existing investors. The Series C funding is helping to accelerate the development and opening of new properties, including new Outposts in the Midwest and the Southeast that opened in April 2021 and an Outpost near Seattle, Getaway’s second Outpost in the Pacific Northwest, opening later this year. As Getaway continues to expand as a result of the rise in nature tourism and domestic travel, the company will seek more ways – like Labor Week – to support its employees while providing people around the country with mindful escapes and free time.
Study Methodology
The study was commissioned by Getaway and conducted by Kelton Global, a Material Company, between July 30 and August 4, 2021 among 1,089 employed Americans ages 18+. Results of any sample are subject to sample variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and affected by the number of interviews and the level of percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percent, from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all personas in the universe represented by the sample. The margin of error for any subgroups will be slightly higher.
About Getaway
Getaway is a health and wellness hospitality company on a mission to make space in the world for free time, offering mindful escapes to tiny cabins nestled in nature where guests can take a break from work, WiFi, and routines. Getaway builds Outposts, collections of tiny cabins, within a two-hour drive of major cities, outfits them with the comforts of home, and rents them by the night. Everything about the experience, from the location of the land to the design of the cabins and the lack of WiFi and cell service, is designed to help guests unplug from the stress of daily life, reset, and embrace simple pleasures like nature and a campfire. Getaway has 15 Outposts with over 580 cabins located outside of Atlanta, Austin and San Antonio, Boston, Charlotte and Raleigh, Chicago, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Portland, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.getaway.house.
SOURCE Getaway
