Google famously allows its employees one day a week to work on anything they want, allowing them to play with ideas that might be the next big thing, or might fizzle into nothing at all. According to a new report by the WSJ, Apple has started a similar initiative, just on a smaller scale.
The Journal’s sources say that some employees are getting a new perk, dubbed the “Blue Sky” initiative, that allows the staffers “a few weeks” to work on a pet project of their own.
This is being viewed as a thawing of company perks, which were notoriously limited under Jobs. By allowing employees time to work on personal projects, it keeps people happier, and allows for the occasional piece of felicitous design. I’m hoping this means we get to see some interesting little side projects landing on iOS over the next year or two.
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