Nike closes corporate offices for a week to give workers break from burn-out

Nike headquarters recently went dark for a week to give its employees time to de-stress.

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The company instructed staff to “Take the time to unwind, destress and spend time with your loved ones,” BBC News reported.

It came at a time where employees were saying they were burned out from working from home because of the continuing coronavirus pandemic, BBC News reported.

Matt Marrazzo made the announcement on LinkedIn telling employees “do not work” and that the last year has been “rough” as they were “living through a traumatic event.”

Marrazzo said it wasn’t just a vacation, rather “it’s an acknowledgment that we can prioritize mental health and still get work done.”

Business Insider reported that corporate offices were closed Aug. 23-30 and staff members were paid during the weeklong time off.

Nike isn’t the only company giving employees a week off to help deal with burnout. Both Bumble and Hootsuite shut down for a week each this year to give workers a break, Business Insider reported.

In 2019, the World Health Organization categorized burnout as an occupational phenomenon in the International Classification of Diseases. It did not, however, call it a medical condition.

In the ICD-11, the WHO said,

“Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
• reduced professional efficacy.”

Burn-out had been included in the ICD-10, but the ICD-11 expanded the definition. It will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.

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