Family and Friends day

At Mattermost we care a lot about our communities: our customers, our open source contributors, our staff, and the friends and family that support our staff to do all that they do.

Occasionally we’ll call a “Family and Friends Day”. In alignment with our time off policies, this is a day to rest, relax, and recharge by spending time with the people in our personal lives who matter so much.

We want to be especially thoughtful on the topic in the time of Covid, economic change, and changes to travel and academic environments.

Guiding principles

• Staff wellness. When staff aren't taking enough PTO, create space for company-wide PTO.

• Right balance. Find the right balance between the benefit of company-wide breaks but not overly dictating people's personal vacation schedules.

• Customer context. Time Friends & Family Days around least disruption for customers, and ensure essential coverage is in place (rotate PTO for staff members who need to stay).

On Family and Friends day, we will run the majority of the company with the minimal staff needed to meet our service level commitments - and we ask the staff who are on-call, or who choose to work that day, to take an alternate day off.

Our #familyandfriendsday will be shared on Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media, with a link to this notice page and FAQ. This can be referenced in out-of-office responders.

FAQ

How should we handle coverage for teams or roles that require someone to work that day?

If you're in a role or on a team that may require coverage or you have important customer meetings that cannot or should not be rescheduled, please work with your manager to find an alternative day to take off.

Is this different from our time off policy?

The only difference is that we’ve selected a specific date to intentionally take time off as a company. Time to rest and reflect is important and we hope staff feel more encouraged to continue to take the time needed to practice self-care.

Can I still take time off later this month, or in the future?

Absolutely. Our Paid Time Off process is to help ensure our staff develop a strong practice of self-care by effectively rotating their time around work, family, friends, and all the things that matter most.

Do I still need to follow the communicating time off process for these days?

We can assume most team members will be off these days, but still recommend updating your out-of-office messages in Mattermost and email to reference the public announcement to Family and Friends Days, and indicate that you’ll return messages after the event.

Upcoming Family and Friends Days (2023)

• July 3 - 4