Patagonia is an outdoor clothing company based in Ventura, California. It is also known for one of the most quoted workplace rules in business.
In the words of its founder, Yvon Chouinard: “We have a policy that when the surf comes up, you drop work and you go surfing.” He gave his book the same name: Let My People Go Surfing.
THE RULE
There is one condition. “I don’t care when you work as long as the job gets done,” Chouinard said in an interview with NPR’s How I Built This.
The rule rests on trust. People manage their own time, and the work still has to be done well. Movement and time outdoors are not treated as a break from the culture of the company. They are part of it.
THE CARE BEHIND IT
The surf rule is the famous part. The less famous part goes further.
Patagonia has offered on-site child care at its headquarters since 1983. Writing on the company’s website, its then chief executive, Rose Marcario, reported that over five years, 100% of mothers returned to work after maternity leave. Turnover among parents using the programme was 25% lower than among other employees. And the company estimates it recovers 91% of the programme’s costs each year.
WHAT IT DOES AND DOES NOT PROVE
This is one company’s story, reported by the company itself. It is not a controlled study, and Patagonia’s results come from many things at once: its mission, its customers, its people.
But it shows something useful. Looking after people’s lives, including their need to move, to rest and to care for their families, can sit comfortably inside a demanding business.
WHAT ANY TEAM CAN TAKE FROM IT
Few offices have waves outside the window. The idea travels anyway.
1. Make movement normal during the working week, not only after it.
2. Build it on trust. The work gets done, and people choose how.
3. Do it together. A shared moment of movement is also a moment of connection between colleagues.
WHY WE CARE
LACTIK is a team race for colleagues: walk or run, exercise, and cross the finish line together.
We think of it as a surf rule for teams without a beach. Time to move, inside the working week, side by side with the people you work with.
Treat your team like athletes.
SOURCES
CNBC (2016). The founder of Patagonia fishes half the year and tells his employees to go surfing.
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/23/founder-of-patagonia-fishes-half-the-year-tells-his-employees-to-surf.html
Patagonia, Rose Marcario. Family Business: Weighing the Business Case.
https://www.patagonia.com/stories/culture/community/family-business-weighing-the-business-case/story-32958.html
Patagonia Works (2016). Patagonia releases new book, Family Business: Innovative On-Site Child Care Since 1983.
https://www.patagoniaworks.com/press/2016/8/8/patagonia-releases-new-book-family-business-innovative-on-site-child-care-since-1983