Coinbase will shut down for four weeklong breaks this year

Coinbase has embraced many of the workplace changes prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. The company became remote-first, and it’s even closing its San Francisco headquarters to hammer in its focus on working from anywhere.

Now, nearly all of Coinbase will shut down for four separate weeks throughout the year so employees can “enjoy downtime without work piling up,” chief people officer L.J. Brock said.

“Four weeks of coordinated recharge time might sound like a lot of time off for a company in hypergrowth, but given the intensity of our work throughout the year, we think this is the best way to ensure our pace is sustainable for the long term,” Brock wrote in a blog post Monday.

Giving employees a week off here and there isn’t entirely uncommon. Some ad agencies gave workers a week off last year around Labor Day, and other companies like LinkedIn and Twitch carved out extended breaks. Hootsuite did the same to help support people’s mental health.

Coinbase has also tested so-called recharge weeks before. Most of the company took one at the end of 2020, and it added two recharge weeks last year after finding that employees weren’t taking enough time off. Brock said over half of surveyed employees said the weeks off helped them reset.

The company’s flexible time off policy won’t change even with the recharge weeks, but Brock said Coinbase is encouraging workers to schedule vacations during those weeks “when they can.”