Rested Teams Do Better Work: Inside Avenue's PTO Policy
TL;DR: Rested teams do sharper, more creative work, and we've built Avenue around that. We close our virtual office for a Summer Holiday Week and a Winter Holiday Week, offer unlimited PTO, and expect every teammate to take at least 25 days off a year. After testing Summer Fridays, we're moving to Flex Fridays, where the team can work a half day or log off early once their key priorities are done. If your team isn't resting, the fix starts with leaders making time off safe, visible, and expected.
Your Best Work Doesn't Happen on Hour Eleven
Picture your campaign manager at 9 p.m., toggling between a dashboard and a cold cup of coffee, trying to figure out why click-through rate dipped. Nobody has ever cracked a tough analytics puzzle better because they skipped lunch and vacation. You want a team with sharp judgment, fresh ideas, and enough patience to explain a bounce rate to you for the fourth time, and that is the result I care about most as the CEO of Avenue.
As a certified B Corp, we've always believed that protecting our team's health is part of doing business well. I learned this the hard way earlier in my career, when I operated on the far end of the spectrum and saw firsthand how little sleep and no chance to recharge leads to poor decisions, less mental and physical ability, and less empathy for the people around me. The strongest work comes from people who are recharged, which is why we've put real structure around rest instead of leaving it to good intentions and the occasional long weekend.
What Rest Looks Like at Avenue
Twice a year, we close our virtual office for a Summer Holiday Week and a Winter Holiday Week. Everyone is off at the same time, so no one returns to a mountain of Slack messages or a quietly panicking inbox. On top of those two weeks, we offer unlimited PTO, which sounds dreamy but can behave like a gym membership in January: great intentions, low attendance. To keep it honest, we set a clear expectation that each teammate takes at least three weeks of PTO a year in addition to the two holiday weeks, for a minimum of 25 days. If someone isn't reaching that number, I don't see a personal failing. I see us falling short on our commitment to their wellbeing.
A generous policy means little if people feel guilty using it, so we've also worked on making it safe to not work after hours or while on vacation. Out of office means out of office, and that goes for leadership too. In the past I've written about how sleep, exercise, and healthy boundaries make leaders better at decision-making and empathy, and I try to practice what I write. When people know they won't be pinged at 8 p.m. or during their week in the mountains, they stop bracing for it, and that is when real rest starts.
What We Learned from Summer Fridays
We tested Summer Fridays to see what a little extra breathing room in the week could do for our team, and the experiment taught us a lot. People loved the time, and it gave everyone a natural reason to plan their week with more intention. It also showed us that a blanket policy has limits. A fixed day off works best when the work cooperates, and client work does not always respect our calendar, so some Fridays felt more relaxed than others.
The biggest lesson was about how the rest of the week behaves when a break is coming. Knowing the reward was around the corner, teammates started finishing tasks earlier instead of letting everything pile up until Thursday night. That momentum is the part we wanted to keep.
Why We're Moving to Flex Fridays
Flex Fridays build on that lesson. Instead of a set schedule for everyone, our team has the flexibility to work a half day on Fridays or log off early once their key priorities and deliverables are complete. The design rewards finishing over sitting, and it puts the trust where I want it, in our team's ability to manage their own work. It also helps with productivity throughout the week, since there is a real incentive to get things done on Monday through Thursday instead of saving them for the end. That keeps clients happy, because deadlines get met with room to spare, and it keeps the team motivated, because the payoff is earned and visible.
We're also improving our meeting practices as we go. Ideas like no-meeting days and protected focus time work because they give people uninterrupted stretches to think, plan, and finish things, and anyone who has watched a Friday afternoon vanish into three calls that could have been emails knows the appeal. On a personal level, I've found that time blocking my calendar and taking a breath before a meeting starts are small habits that add up over a year, and I encourage the team to find their own versions.
Borrow the Playbook
You don't need a B Corp certification to start. If you offer unlimited PTO, set a minimum number of days and track it kindly, because a number gives people permission. Close the office together for a week or two so nobody worries about falling behind, and have leaders take real time off without sending "quick questions" from the beach, since the team follows what leaders do. If you want to try a Friday perk, test it first and ask your team what they experienced, then shape the policy around what you hear. Finally, audit your meetings, cancel the ones that don't earn their spot, and protect blocks of focus time so people can finish their work.
It's a Work in Progress, and We're Starting Somewhere
I don't think we have this perfectly figured out, but I'm looking forward to continuing to improve on what we do have in place and learning and iterating it continually to meet our team's needs. We're learning, adjusting, and asking our team what helps them feel supported and empowered to recharge. What I know for sure is that a workplace where people flourish professionally and personally produces better marketing, stronger client relationships, and a team that sticks around.
