Side project time

rdf:langString Side project time

rdf:langString Side project time is a type of employee benefit constituting a guarantee from employers that their employees may work on their personal projects during some part (usually a percentage) of their time at work. Side project time is limited by two stipulations: what the employee works on is the intellectual property of their employer, and if requested, an explanation must be able to be given as to how the project benefits the company in some way, even tangentially. Technology company Google is credited for popularizing the 20% concept. It led to the development of products such as Gmail and AdSense. Though the program's continuity has been questioned Google states it remains an active program. Other major companies that have at one time or another offered some or all of their employees the benefit include the BBC (10%), Apple (a few contiguous weeks yearly), and Atlassian (20%). Some, such as LinkedIn, have trialed more restrictive versions of such initiatives in which employees must first pitch their project and have it approved by their manager to work on it during company time. Side project time has been criticized by some academics, such as Queens College sociology professor Abraham Walker, as "exploitative" due to how it grants employers the intellectual property rights over the personal business ideas of their employees that the employer would have never requested to be worked on otherwise.