WORLD NEWS

Christmas, New Year year-end leaves: This holiday season, several companies in India are encouraging their employees to take time off and spend it with their loved ones. In order to compensate for the small number of staff members who may be required to work during this time, these firms are providing compensatory leave.
With a number of holidays falling close to the weekends in 2024, many companies are also combining these holidays to offer additional time off to their employees.Currently, most companies have given their employees time off during the last week of 2023, according to an ET report.
Deloitte, a professional services firm, has an annual companywide downtime during the last week of the year. Chief People and Experience Officer, Deepti Sagar, stated that the messaging comes directly from the leadership and team leaders are strongly encouraged to adhere to this downtime so that employees can fully enjoy it without any hesitation.Deloitte contributes three days to this time off, ensuring that it does not affect employees’ annual leave balance, allowing them to take breaks whenever needed. Employees who are required to work during this period are given equivalent time off in January. In addition to the annual leave entitlement, Deloitte also provides separate happiness time offs and well-being leaves.
KPMG, a rival firm, observes a ‘dial-down leave’ from December 25 to January 1, allowing employees to take a break from work. However, those with client commitments are expected to continue working. A KPMG spokesperson was quoted as saying that employees working at this time can take annual leave when work eases, in consultation with their managers. The company makes provisions in advance for planned leave to strike a balance between client commitments and employee well-being.
Hexaware Technologies, an IT services firm, has an annual year-end shutdown from Christmas to New Year for all non-billable employees. Chief People Officer Nita Nambiar said that since this period also coincides with most of their customers’ holidays, the aim is to provide employees with an opportunity to take a break, celebrate, and rejuvenate. This year, the shutdown at Hexaware is for 10 days, from December 23 to January 1.
Real estate platform Nobroker has added January 1 to its list of 10 mandatory holidays. CEO Amit Agarwal explained, “We felt that year-end is the time when our colleagues want to spend time with their family and hence they should be able to do it more freely.” When deciding the list of mandatory and optional holidays for 2024, Nobroker ensures that long weekends are made possible. Agarwal said that the company does not want employees to work on holidays unless it is a customer-facing call centre, in which case they provide an additional one-day salary for their efforts

Some companies are also offering hybrid work options for those working during the holiday season. Sneha Arora, Chief Human Resources Officer at Bengaluru-based startup Simpl, stated that the holiday season is important for employees, both professionally and personally, and the company is committed to striking a fine balance between the two through its hybrid work structure.
Simpl provides meals, snacks, in-office celebrations, and travel arrangements for employees who need to operate from the office for critical functions. For those working remotely, special hampers are planned to be sent out.
Software company Adobe has two company-wide breaks each year, one in summer (in the US) and one in winter (globally). For 2023, these breaks are scheduled for July 3-7 and December 22-29. Chipmaker AMD is organizing various activities such as quiz fun games, dance, and karaoke for employees during the last week of the year.