HubSpot Culture Driven By Employee Happiness

There are few things as important at HubSpot as developing and maintaining a culture that attracts and retains employees who love what they do. We understand that the way that people live and work has dramatically changed from what it was just 10-15 years ago and a company’s culture needs to reflect that.

“The idea of clocking in and clocking out will be outdated sooner than we think,” explained Katie Burke, HubSpot’s VP of Talent & Culture. “From my perspective, part of how the world is changing is people are working anywhere, anytime. They are working on the go, working on their phones, working anytime.”

On this week’s episode of the Slack Variety Hour, Burke discussed HubSpot’s philosophy of maintaining a results-driven work environment where employees have the flexibility to design a work schedule that fits the needs of their personal lives as well,

Some of the key perks that HubSpot offers to make this a reality include unlimited vacation for all employees and a month-long sabbatical given to those who reach the 5-year mark at the company.

Unlimited vacation eliminates employees feeling like their managers are their parents whom they need to ask permission from for time off and puts all the trust and autonomy in the hands of employees to “use good judgement” when making decisions about their time in the office.

HubSpotters use their unlimited vacation in many ways, day in and day out. But a few highlights from employees in the last year include:

• A spontaneous trip to Vietnam and Thailand
• A week spent at the Atlanta based music festival, A3C
• A camping trip with friends in Lake Placid for the I Love BBQ Festival
• Following Justin Timberlake's latest tour around the country, hitting 13 shows in 8 citities (story also featured on the Slack podcast)
• Attending the World Cup in Brazil 

The sabbaticals enable employees to take time away from work and the “go, go, go” reality of today’s world to rejuvenate and explore personal interests without while still receiving pay and benefits.

To date, HubSpotters who have cashed in on their sabbaticals have used the time to:

• Take an “Eat, Pray, Live” style trip to Madrid, Spain
• Live in the south of France with her family
• Spend a month as “one with the ocean” surfing in Costa Rica
• Drive the Pacific Coast Highway from San Diego to San Francisco, leisurely
• Improve Portuguese fluency by living in Rio de Janeiro for a month
• And many more

At HubSpot, it’s a widespread belief that being offered these types of experiences not only make you a happier, more well-rounded person but also make you a happier, more well-rounded employee. "Making shoulder shrug decisions about people or about culture is fatal to your business,” says Burke. Instead, HubSpot is proud to have built a culture where encouraging and preserving employee happiness is a business imperative.