At Bongarde, everybody gets their birthday off as a paid day. It’s our birthday present to you – a little self-care. If your birthday falls on a weekend, you can take either the Monday or Friday off… lucky you.

Can you bank your birthday for a future date? Unfortunately, time is linear. As hard as I try to pretend my own birthday’s no longer exist and that I am still 21, reality and the mirror prove otherwise on a daily basis. The answer? No, you cannot bank the birthday gift from Bongarde, there is no regifting of the day off.

We all work in technology and get twitchy when we aren’t connected. Bongarde measures employees on results, not necessarily time, but we do expect employees to be productive and not just present. It’s a give and take. If you are hitting your rocks and targets, on time, and on budget, maybe you need a bigger challenge? Maybe you are a rock star? Of course you are, you’re a Bongardian. But if you aren’t hitting on all cylanders, maybe there needs to be a productivity conversation with your manager to help guide you back on track.

Nobody expects you not to be able to get a text from family/friends during the workday, but nobody expects you to be texting all day either. If you need to step away to deal with something non-work related, please feel free too, but on the other side of the equation, it’s really hard to hit all your goals when you are constantly distracted and away from your desk.

We only ask for some common sense and common decency. If you feel that you need to stay a little longer to make up for a 30 minute conversation you had to have with a loved one – please do. If you feel like you should scour Tinder for 40 minutes while you wait for newsletters to print, you’ve made a bad decision when it comes to time and project management… don’t be surprised if it becomes the topic of your next 1 on 1.

Submitting a sick notice is the same process as booking a vacation, the only difference is that you select “sick” instead of “vacation” for type of absence. Sick notices do not require pre-approval, but should be submitted as early as is reasonable.

All sick absences must comply with the Bongarde Sick Policy – especially when it comes to doctor’s notes.

Prolonged absences for any reason may be a cause for an attendance discussion, especially if absences exceed 1-2% of the total year .

Bongarde doesn’t encourage presenteeism, but is flexible with it’s work from home policy; however, the expectation is that you are always productively working and not “working from home” but too sick to be productive.

Vacations are booked in Humi at www.humi.ca.

1. Login to Humi
2. Select “Time Off” from the navigation
3. Pick a start date and end date
4. Select “Vacation”
5. Give a description for your manager
6. Click on Submit

Vacations will be approved or disapproved within 2-5 business days. Vacations must be booked a minimum of 14 days in advance, any less WILL NOT be approved for any reason. Vacations cannot be booked more than 6 months in advance. Approval is subject to availability, capacity, and manager’s discretion.