In 2023, WITW leadership made the decision to close for one full week in December for an Annual Winter Break. We were still assessing the impact of Covid-19 on our team and our industry, had experienced two years of astounding growth and were beginning to recognize that burn-out and feelings of non-stop work were becoming very real. At WITW we want to not only transform the way reading is taught and learned, but also help transform the workplace and prioritize balance, rest, reset and quality of life. We decided on a paid Annual Winter Break for all staff. For us this means closing our office and worksites completely so everyone is out of the office, and out of the shared drive, at the same time. Our whole team can completely unplug and walk away without feeling like other team members are trying to contact them or filling their inboxes for their return. This paid week off does not impact employee vacation time. Although as a leadership team, we worried about losing this week of productivity, we knew that prioritizing mental health and well-being was so much more valuable.

Going forward, we will continue this week-long Annual Winter Break and will continue to look for ways to avoid burnout and hold life-balance and mental health on equal footing with productivity and growth. Our team works HARD and they are the lifeblood of our organization. Although we cannot always provide a completely stress-free environment, or a perfect balance between work and rest, we will continue to search for ways to evolve business practices and support their time away as much as possible. 

In 2024, our Annual Winter Break will be December 23-27. We work in a variety of schools and we choose the one week when school breaks all overlap. If you contact us during that time, we will get back to you the following week!