Duolingo, recognized publicly as a tech enterprise specializing in language-learning applications, employs close to 1,000 people globally. Despite pressures common in the business sector to trim costs and activity—especially when many firms are downsizing and revising work practices—it has consistently enacted a distinctive approach to holiday scheduling. Every winter, the company grants its entire staff a consecutive two-week vacation, a policy in place since the organization's foundation, according to CEO and cofounder Luis von Ahn.
This collective break contrasts sharply with contemporary trends where companies scrutinize productivity metrics intensely, reduce flexible working arrangements, and often release extensive numbers of employees. Yet, Duolingo has preserved its tradition, even as it expanded its workforce by 14% this year, reaching about 950 employees. Von Ahn recently shared in a LinkedIn post that, although such a policy may appear unusual within a public company framework, its advantages significantly eclipse any drawbacks.
Von Ahn articulates a primary critique of conventional vacation policies—that most time away from work fails to provide employees meaningful detachment from ongoing responsibilities. In typical scenarios, when staff members take personal vacations at staggered times, work continues unabated, leading to accumulating messages, unanswered emails, and a persistent feeling among the absent of missing crucial developments. This dynamic triggers stress and a rush to recover upon returning to the office.
Duolingo mitigates these issues by synchronizing employee absences so that nearly all work pauses simultaneously, besides a minimal overlapping "skeleton" team dedicated to maintaining the app’s functionality. This coordination ensures that upon coming back, employees are not greeted by an overwhelming backlog, a factor von Ahn identifies as essential for authentic disconnection and fostering quality personal or family time.
The two-week winter pause also accommodates the realities of Duolingo’s international workforce. Recognizing that some employees live thousands of miles from their families, the CEO notes that a standard weekend off rarely justifies lengthy transcontinental travel. The extended holiday period creates sufficient opportunity for meaningful visits, affording a chance to reconnect beyond fleeting interactions.
Beyond physical rest, von Ahn suggests these longer breaks offer employees the invaluable chance to reflect deeply on their personal objectives and how these intersect with their professional roles and lives overall. Duolingo’s guiding mission focuses on delivering world-class education universally—a purpose demanding sustained alignment and introspection that briefer, segmented vacations may not facilitate.
From a business perspective, implementing this policy entails covering paid leave where regular labor expectations are temporarily suspended, representing a concrete cost. Nevertheless, von Ahn contends this sacrifice is justified by the broader payoff: nurturing a sustainable organizational culture and protecting critical human elements that contribute to the company’s longevity and success.
In essence, Duolingo’s choice to maintain a uniform winter break, in defiance of prevailing corporate strategies prioritizing continuous productivity and lean operations, underscores a deliberate prioritization of employee well-being and a forward-looking approach to human capital management.