Duolingo gives staff 2 weeks off over the holidays — and the CEO says it pays off

Duolingo shuts down for two weeks every winter, and its CEO says the cost is worth it for real rest.

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• Duolingo gives its staff two weeks off over the holidays, allowing employees to truly unplug.
• CEO Luis von Ahn says companywide breaks beat individual PTO for rest, focus, and morale.
• The 2-week winter break costs money, but he says it helps build a company that lasts.

Duolingo may be a publicly traded tech company with nearly 1,000 employees...