It's no secret that the pandemic hit all of us hard, and now that restrictions have been lifted, offices have reopened, and work seems to be getting to a new normal outside of quarantines and isolation, we all want to take our lives back. If you only learned one lesson in the past year, it's to look out for No.1, i.e. yourself, and practice a bit more balance in self-care.
Research has shown that many of us were overworked and pretty much burned out, and we missed out on vacations last year, too. The average work day extended at least an hour, and millions of vacation days wasted away.
Well, now that the advocacy for remote work has gotten stronger, so has the prioritizing of vacation days so that companies can not only attract top talent, but keep their current workforce.
Check out companies, via FlexJobs, that not only offer remote work but are taking steps to offer competitive vacation packages:
AirBnb
This platform has become a favorite among travelers, offering diverse experiences, from budget to luxury. And the AirBnb doesn't skimp on the vacation perks for their employees. Workers there get annual travel and expenses credits, and "generous" parental and family leave.
Basecamp
If you're into project management, then you've heard of Basecamp. Founded in 1999, the company has 50 employees working across 32 cities. Business Insider reports that employees who have worked with the company for at least a year can choose from 16 paid vacation packages each year, with trips valued at $4,000 to $5,000 each.
Calendly
Many entrepreneurs and professionals use Calendly (which is Black-owned by the way) for scheduling meetings and coordinating calendars, and it's one of the top such tools on them market. Well, employees here get flexible time off, the option to "pick your own perk," a $1,000 annual vacation stipend.
United Airlines
This airline has been named one of the Best Employers for Diversity by Forbes, and one huge part of United Airlines' vacation package is the discounted airline tickets and unlimited standby travel for all employees.
TripAdvisor
Who hasn't gone to TripAdvisor to get the real tea on any restaurant, hotel, or travel experience around the world? The company has more than 350 million monthly users who book flights, hotels, rentals and offer insights for other travels through reviews. Employees at this company can get a travel reimbursement of $250 or more and discounts on vacation packages.
Motley Fool
Motley Fool, a platform that offers business and investing advice, gives its employees unlimited vacation time and the opportunity to participate in their "Fool's Errand" program in which an employee is randomly chosen monthlty and given "a decent chunk of money" to use for a two-week vacay.
Travelzoo
Travelzoo, a site that promotes deals for entertainment and travel experiences, gives its employees a stipend and extra days of PTO to book their travel experiences on the platform.
Evernote
Evernote, a company that provides a savvy and popular app for organizing notes and other important tasks for your day, offers employees unlimited vacation days and a $1,000 yearly vacation stipend.
Expedia
Expedia is another popular go-to site to book hotels and flights or find deals that give members percentages off their bookings. Employees at the company get a travel reimbursement and discounts on any packages they buy via the site.
Moz
Moz develops marketing, has a dope community of online marketers, and is a leader in the industry, and professionals who work there reportedly get at least 21 days paid time off per year, 10 paid holidays, seven days of sick leave, and a $3,000 per year vacation expense reimbursement.
To find out more about remote jobs that offer competitive vacation packages, visit Flexjobs.
Featured image via Getty Images
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak