Brian Bell, Split | This Silicon Valley CEO prioritizes the team’s health and delivers extraordinary results

Brian Bell is CEO of Split. They’re a Silicon Valley company that empowers enterprise development teams to quickly test and improve new features. But Brian doesn’t just care about great technology. He also pays close attention to his employee experience. He noticed that once the pandemic struck, his team wasn’t taking vacation. The boundaries between people’s work and home lives were eroded and people were burning out. Understandable, given the immense 2020 stress we’ve all experienced. 

So Split now has Quarantine Fridays. At least one Friday a month - and sometimes more - the whole company shuts down. People suggested that work continue but that there should be no meetings. But that didn’t go far enough to rebuild the boundaries between work and home. People can wake up on some Fridays with no work obligations whatsoever. Now they can escape overwhelm and approach work from a place of health and calm. And productivity hasn’t dropped one bit. 

How can you rebuild the boundaries between your home and work?

“Employee engagement drives revenue. Physical and mental health is crucial for employee engagement.”