At MACD, we have a policy that every 5 year anniversary is rewarded with a an equivalent number of days additional holiday - 5 days for 5 years, 10 days for 10 years etc.
Ideally, the holiday should be taken in a block to achieve a goal that you always wanted to do but never had the time - such as making a special journey, learning a new skill, or carrying out an activity that you never had the time for.
More than half of our 35 employees have already celebrated their 5, 10 or 15 year jubilee. I had my 25 year anniversary in 2017.
Due to the merger with OARIS, I didn't have time to take a long break. But now the teams have already managed many joint projects and our management structure has been merged. And so finally I took advantage of my 25 days additional holiday.
After such a long time running MACD, it is still not easy to let go, but I have the advantage that I have a team that I totally trust to work without me - I am regularly impressed at how well they do their job.
And so I was able to go away for 25 days, peaceful in the knowledge that when I get back things will probably be better than when I left.
I backpacked through Vietnam, taking the train from south to north and back again, a beautiful country with welcoming people and fantastic food.
At the end, I reserved a few days for meetings in Bangkok and Singapore, visiting the Stock Exchange of Thailand and banks in Singapore, learning about the structure of the Asian market.
Now that I am back, I look forward to the exciting projects that MACD has lined up for 2019 and 2020.
And of course, my 30 day holiday in 2022. Suggestions welcome!
