Anyone who has traveled anywhere knows that it’s pretty much impossible to go away and not come back changed in some way. Maybe it’s a fresh new outlook. Maybe it’s a spark of inspiration. Maybe it’s an openness to something you’d been closed to before. Whatever it is, it can rock you out your ruts and get you going with new fervor. And that’s exactly what ad agency thinkParallax is trying to do, by offering their employees $1,500 and a free paid vacay day to go on a trip.
The one “catch” (if you even want to call it that), is that employees have to blog about their experiences.The blogs are fascinating—filled not only with ideas and inspirations from the countries the creatives are visiting, but also with reflections about working and how different cultures approach their jobs. From the PARALLAXploration blog: “The goal of PARALLAXploration is not only to ensure happy employees, but also to provide them with energizing experiences that will allow them to continue creating exceptional work for our clients.”
It’s a brilliant move, and one I think a lot of industries should embrace. We were talking this weekend about how America is such a “No Vacation Nation”—how work prohibits us from getting away and taking our vacation days. But I think what companies fail to realize is that with the R & R comes exposure, with exposure comes exploration, and with exploration comes innovation. Every industry can benefit from vacation-rested minds and travel-induced inspiration.
Big ups to thinkPARALLAX!
There is a school district in Minnesota or Michigan that requires all their teachers to take a sabbatical every three years. It’s paid, but the requirement is that they must LEARN something new while they’re on paid leave. Imagine how much fun it would be to learn a new skill or craft, a new language, a new form of exercise or a new sport, or take a refresher in a subject you’ve taught for a long, long time to see what’s new in the field. How much more engaging could we be for our students with a fresh perspective?
Reblogged this on Mindy Explains It All and commented:
Personally, I think this is a WONDERFUL idea. The main excuses that people don’t travel more are money and time. And here, this agency is enabling wanderlust! It’s amazing that no one else has thought of this sooner. For one, it is such a good thing to learn about other cultures and countries, but also, the inspiration and enlightenment of it all is very important – especially for people who work in a creative industry! Kudos to thinkParallax! If there was an award for best employee morale, they would probably take the cake.