Forget the iPads, Company Is Offering Paid Leave as Christmas Raffle Prize

A new iPad, phone or a spa treatment as a holiday gift for your employees? How about additional paid leave? A Philippine cosmetics company has come up with this novel idea.

Colourette Cosmetics raffled off five days of additional paid leave as part of prizes at a Christmas party, according to a TikTok video from Nina Cabrera, the founder and chief executive officer of the homegrown makeup brand.

Cabrera said on Twitter Tuesday she was inspired by a viral post from a Philippine lawyer that laments how a big TV won’t matter if the employees are stuck in the office all the time.

The prize is a welcome move in the Philippines, which lags its neighbors like Singapore and Indonesia in leave entitlement. According to the Philippine labor code, an employee who has worked for at least a year is entitled to five days of paid leave, although local companies tend to offer more time off than the legal minimum.

A lack of respite from work could make employees more tense. A Gallup survey showed Filipino workers were among the most stressed in Southeast Asia, according to local media.

In a sign of public approval, Cabrera’s TikTok post had attracted some 8,000 likes and largely positive comments Wednesday. One top reply read: “This is the new normal for companies who value and appreciate their employees. Best boss you’ll ever have guys!”

The idea to give workers more paid leave also echoes how international companies like Patagonia and Airbnb are adopting a framework focusing on employee wellbeing.