Boss orders workers to take break day to attend their youngsters’ nativity performs and pantos
Employees at Thrive Learning have been sent a memo by the company’s CEO warning them to put their children’s events in their work diary ahead of the festive period
Parents working at one of Britain’s fastest growing companies have been told they must take time off to attend their kids’ nativity plays and other Christmas events or face a ticking off from bosses.
All 220 staff at Thrive Learning, a learning and employee engagement platform, have been sent a memo by the firm’s founder and CEO warning them to put their children’s important events in their work diary and to make sure they go.
Dad-of-two Sean Reddington, 42, told them in an email: “Please don’t forget to block out time in your diaries for the Christmas pantos with your kids, or any school events they have.
“It’s such an important part of the season and one of those memories that really stick with them. No project deadline or meeting comes close to these moments, so make sure you’re there to enjoy it.
“Let’s all plan ahead and make sure those dates are set — no excuses when the curtain goes up!” One employee said: “It’s great that the company is so keen on supporting family life, but we all know that Sean is hot on this stuff and we could be in trouble if we miss our kids’ nativity plays.
Thrive, which provides learning and communications support for some of the UK’s biggest firms like Vodafone and British Airways, is passionate about taking care of the families of their staff.
Children of all employees get sent a card and a gift on their birthdays and a personalised Thrive advent calendar at Christmas, as well as other outings and treats throughout the year.
Self-made multi-millionaire Sean feels all companies should do more to cherish the family lives of their employees.
He said: “We obviously expect our colleagues to work hard for the success of our company and they are all brilliant at doing that. But family is vitally important for all of us for our wellbeing.
“We want to help parents become heroes at home. I believe that carving out time for our kids and maintaining a healthy work-life balance not only allows us to do that, but also makes us better at our jobs”
Sean himself has appointed a joint CEO at Thrive Learning to allow him to spend more time with his children. He added: “Doing the school run is invariably much more important to me than that 9am internal meeting.”
Thrive Learning is a learning and employee engagement platform redefining the traditional L&D space by combining learning, communication and knowledge-sharing in one powerful solution. Led by founder and CEO Sean Reddington, Thrive helps organisations build connected, empowered and high-performing teams through bold innovation and a people-first approach.
