Paid to protest? Raleigh’s Bandwidth offers employees time off to hit picket lines

RALEIGH — Imagine getting paid time off from work to be an activist. For Bandwidth employees, it’s not a dream. It’s their new reality.

After global protests over police brutality and racism erupted in June, Raleigh-based communications software company rolled out a new work policy supporting individual activism and community service.

Called “Go and Do,” it gives employees paid leave to support the causes of their choice.

“Each year, it’s a full day for you to go wave a flag, fly a banner, contribute, protest; don’t care,” said Bandwidth founder and CEO David Morken during a virtual seminar conducted as part of the Economic Development Summit series on Wednesday.

“Go be a citizen. We think it’s much more meaningful than just posting a hashtag, or anything else.”

A man of faith (“I’m a Jesus-freak, he told WRAL TechWire in an interview last year), Morken has said he’s committed to creating a work culture that preserves the “mind, body and spirit” of all his some 700 employees.

That means 90-minute workout lunches, a vacation email embargo and a “Whole Person Challenge” where employees can earn free days off if they take part in regular challenges of mind, body and spirit, including reading specific books, trying new activities and working out 20 hours a month.

In addition, corporate chaplains visit the office once a week to engage with employees.

He’s also active in the community. Back in 2009, he and co-founder, Henry Kaestner, started DurhamCares, a faith-based mission committed to community engagement.

Among its many initiatives, it mobilized more than 800 residents to volunteer, raising around $200,000 for Durham non-profits.

Meanwhile, business continues to boom.

In April, Bandwidth announced plans for new 500,000-square-feet headquarters at the southwest corner of Reedy Creek Road and Edwards Mill Road.