Every year, Cloudera offers “Unplug” days to help employees truly disconnect from work, recharge, and focus on what matters to them outside of the office. For some, that means pursuing a long-awaited passion project. For others, that means seeing more of the world or spending quality time with family and friends. No matter how Clouderans choose to spend them, these dedicated, enterprise-wide breaks reinforce Cloudera’s commitment to the humanity behind the company—ensuring our team’s well-being and promoting a positive work-life balance.
We just returned from our Winter Unplug, which gave Clouderans the opportunity to close out an incredible year with a moment to reset. With the new year underway and more employees returning from their breaks, we checked in with Clouderans from across the globe to see how they spent their 2025 Winter Unplug.
How did you spend your Winter Unplug?
“When not spending time with my four children and family, I was able to work on building a robotic dog.” – Dr. Christopher Royles, Field CTO EMEA
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"Since Brazil is in the summer season, I spent time doing some cycling training in beautiful places.” - Everton Fernandes, Sr. Manager, Solutions Engineering
“I stayed in a wooden house in the mountains of Chiang Mai, Thailand, spending my days meditating, reading, and disconnecting from the rhythm of city life.” – Ziyang Yang, Senior Talent Acquisition Advisor
“I was able to spend time with family and friends - Pantomime, Christmas markets, dining out, touring London, watching the Christmas lights and firework show on New Year’s Eve.” - Deepa Pednekar, Senior Practice Manager, EMEA
“Scuba Diving! I went to Mexico and did a lot of cave diving in the famous cenotes. And then taught my oldest to dive as well!” - Sergio Gago, CTO
What does it mean to you to work at a company that offers Unplug?
“As a busy mom, wife, and professional, having the flexibility to take time off when I need it—whether that’s to align with my kids’ school schedules, hockey tournaments, or gymnastics meets—means a lot. Cloudera Unplug gives me the freedom to step away without guilt, knowing I can take care of what matters most at home and come back recharged and ready to give my very best at work.” – Molly Boyer, Sr. Director, Communications and Analyst Relations
“Unplug days offer a chance for employees to recharge mentally and build a stronger connection with family, which in turn prevents burnout and leads to stronger loyalty, creativity and productivity.” - Dimas Ramaditya, Partner Sales Manager
“Having the opportunity to pursue one’s dreams with a healthy body creates a healthy mind.” - Niel Dunnage, Principal Strategic Customer Success Manager
“It is nothing short of amazing to have this time off. I have always appreciated and thoroughly cherished any company that supports their employee’s well-being with much needed time off to unplug and recharge the batteries for a new year!” - Morry Bowling, Partner Sales Director
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“I really appreciate the fact that I can disconnect completely without worrying about tons of emails waiting for me on my return to the office. Getting quality time off makes me very productive and motivated to give my best after the break!” - Stamatis Zampetakis, Senior Staff Engineer
Is there anything about Unplug you want to share?
“This isn't just a holiday break; it’s a necessary pause to fully embrace this moment before a long farewell.” - Jennifer Parker, Sr. Manager, Contracts
“It's great, and I really enjoyed these days. Especially as an employee, these breaks are important to refresh our minds and be 100 percent when we return.” - Gaurav Sharma, Software QA Engineer
“Unplug gives me the freedom to step away, recharge, and return with better focus and energy. It’s a strong signal of trust and a people-first culture.” - Vishnuprakash Palanisamy, Staff Software Engineer
“My family plans our year around unplug days, and we all look forward to them. We schedule vacations to coincide with unplug periods, allowing for extended breaks without missing extra workdays. This approach has significant business benefits too. My coworkers do the same, so out-of-office times cluster around unplug days, resulting in more days when everyone is online together.” - Jason Fehr, Senior Staff Engineer
“These unplugged trips have always turned out to be more productive than I expected. This time, they gave me a fresh perspective on life and its surprises — along with an answer to the philosophical question most present in my mind, just as similar trips have done before.” - Shivam Kumar, Software Engineer II
“One of the most rewarding moments for us on the talent acquisition team is when candidates tell us they’ve already heard about our Unplug program through friends or social media. When people want to work here not just for the role, but because we genuinely respect personal time, you know the culture is real.” - Rachit Chandra, Director, Talent Acquisition, APAC
Learn more about how Cloudera is helping create an inclusive and supportive workplace for everyone.
