Envato gives its staff a 9-day fortnight, more cash to work from home

Envato’s global workforce of more than 600 people will work to a nine-day fortnight until Christmas, as well as ramping up company benefits including increased support for working from home.

Recognising the impact of the pandemic on the Envato team as part of a review into the shape of Envato’s work culture, the company has also upgraded its flexible work benefits in a longer-term project called #YourWayIsOurWay.

Employees will receive both a lump sum payment and monthly contributions towards working from home.

Announcing the changes, including the temporary relief package CEO Hichame Assi nothing had been easy about managing full-time remote work since the pandemic began.

“We realised there were a number of things we could change that would make life easier for our team. We are proud of the fact that Envato is different,” he said.

“We’re a values-led, independent B Corp that along the journey to building something great also helped normalise remote and flexible working in the Australian tech sector.”

The changes include:

A nine-day fortnight for the entire team to the end of 2021;
Lump-sum payments for home office set up and maintenance;
Ongoing monthly payments to help cover internet and home-office related utilities;
Expanded social budgets to help Envato teams connect.

Assi said the #YourWayIsOurWay changes as part of a wider review of benefits for staff.

“We know the world has changed and we can be doing more to have a responsive, globally-recognised benefits program, in a way that highlights to our people that we have their back during what has been an incredibly stressful time for many,” he said.

It comes on top of existing increased assistance including a partnership with The Resilience Project, a school holiday program for parents, and ‘15 Hours for 15 Years’, which gave staff an extra two days of leave to mark the company’s 15th anniversary.

Hichame Assi said the latest changes won’t be the end.

“We’ll always strive for continuous improvement and ensure we’re responding to the way our lives evolve. Our global team are at the heart of everything we do,” he said.

“In the meantime, we’re just thankful our people have continued to trust in the business to do the right thing, so we can, in turn, help them get back to what matters most in their lives.”