Beyond Unlimited PTO: Why Vivun Also Takes a Mandatory Vacation Week Twice a Year
Claire Bruce
September 3, 2025
In a world where hustle culture is too often mistaken for commitment, we decided to take a different path. When starting Vivun, we didn't just want to build another successful business; we wanted to build a company around the belief that people do their best work when they're fully supported and present.
Research from the Society for Human Resource Management shows that 76% of employees believe their company's PTO policy directly influences their job satisfaction. Translation? How you handle time off isn't just an HR policy or a footnote to a benefits section; it's a statement about what you value as leaders.
That's why, beyond offering unlimited PTO, we've implemented something more intentional: mandatory vacation periods. Twice a year, we have company-wide "Quiet Periods" when everyone steps away…together. No emails, no Slack, no "quick questions."
This isn't about checking a progressive employer box or adding another line to our benefits page. It's about recognizing time away from the laptop as the foundation, not the antithesis, of productivity. And from an operational standpoint, it's about building something that scales sustainably: a company where people don't just survive the startup grind, but actually thrive within it.
Our Quiet Periods policy was born from our belief, all four co-founders, in prioritizing family, wellness, and humanity.
We had all experienced the chaos and burnout of modern tech culture firsthand, and frankly, we were tired of it. We made a conscious decision together: we wanted to build the company we'd actually love to work for. Not just another startup that paid lip service to work-life balance while expecting 100-hour weeks and always-on availability.
Coming from previous experience within law firms and legal technology companies, I'd seen what happens when growth comes at the expense of people. We knew we could do better. As co-founders, we wanted to model something different, to be able to prioritize our own families, step away guilt-free, and spend real time with loved ones and on passion projects without distractions. That wouldn’t be possible if time off was constantly disrupted by teammates still working and moving projects ahead.
We wanted to lead with integrity, not just for our customers and product, but for our employees and their lives outside of work. That led to a bold decision early on: not only would we offer unlimited PTO, but twice a year, the entire business would take a break. No exceptions, no "critical projects," no quiet requests that require the involvement of other teammates.
When we say everyone rests, we mean everyone, starting with us, top-down.
As COO, I'm responsible for making sure these aren't just nice ideas; they actually work operationally. So here's how we've structured Vivun’s Quiet Period policy:
Twice a year, we completely shut down for a week, on a predictable cadence:
During these weeks, we enforce three non-negotiables:
These Quiet Periods aren't traditional company holidays where half the team is still working behind the scenes. They're intentional, synchronized breaks that we’ve designed to create genuine space to recharge, with minimal disruption to overall business interruptions.
Quiet Periods aren't just appreciated, they’re fully embraced. Here’s how a few Vivun team members spent their most recent August pause:
Each story is different. Some are relaxing, some chaotic, and some life-changing. But the common thread? Uninterrupted time off, with no Slack pings, no calendar invites, and no pressure to “check in.” That’s what makes Quiet Periods special: the space to live your life and come back to work rejuvenated.
On paper, unlimited PTO sounds generous. But in practice, many employees, especially in fast-paced, high-growth environments, don’t feel comfortable actually using it. Fear of falling behind, guilt over taking time off, or the looming avalanche of work upon return often keep people tied to their desks.
Quiet Periods solve this problem by:
It also reinforces our core company value, Fast & Focused. We move fast, but we also know when to pause and prioritize long-term clarity over short-term busyness.
Burnout is a crisis in tech, and unlimited PTO alone won't fix it. 76% of employees experience burnout at least occasionally (Gallup), with 28% reporting feeling burned out "very often" or "always” (Statista). The problem is particularly pervasive in tech, and remote workers report a 20% higher risk of burnout due to the blurring of work and personal boundaries. (McKinsey).
Even more concerning, employees experiencing burnout are 2.6 times more likely to seek another job (Gallup), while engagement drops by 45% among burned-out employees (McKinsey), creating massive disruption and knowledge loss across organizations.
And the impacts of burnout are not self-contained to your organization. Research shows that customer satisfaction drops by 30% when employees are experiencing burnout, as stress directly affects service quality and client interactions (Statistica). In fact, according to the WHO, burnout costs businesses $322 billion annually in lost productivity.
The business case is clear for intentional time off that's culturally and operationally supported. Mandatory vacation, done right way:
And we believe that's exactly what the future of work requires: sustainable growth that doesn't sacrifice our people's wellbeing for short-term gains.
Our Quiet Periods are more than a perk; they’re a statement. That growth-at-all-costs doesn’t supersede talent. That when we say "people first," we don't just put it on a website; we shut down the entire company twice a year to prove it.
Culture isn't built in all-hands meetings or Slack announcements; it's built in the rhythms and rituals that show what you actually value. And we've learned that the best work doesn't come from grinding endlessly; it comes from building a company where people can do their life's work without sacrificing their actual lives.
