We were lucky to catch up with Sabs Katz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sabs, appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Rest is not something to be earned; as humans, we need rest in order to function. For so long we’ve been told that we need to keep working and that any time you have to yourself should be ‘productive’. I am continuously inspired by The Nap Ministry, a movement led by Tricia Hersey that recognizes rest as a radical act. In a world that drives us into the ground by tying our value to our output, we will continue to exhaust ourselves with things that need to get done.

In other countries, there are mandatory vacation periods and for more time than we Americans have (min. 5 weeks vacation vs. 2 weeks vacation). Companies around the globe are adopting a 4 day work week, without seeing productivity drop. We need a cultural shift that gives us back our time without requiring us to work as intensely as we do. In doing so, we’ll have more time to dedicate to the things that are important to us: our relationships, hobbies, creativity, and experiences.

At my organization, Intersectional Environmentalist, we’ve implemented a 4 day work week in addition to two mandatory 2 week breaks during the year (one in the summer, one in the winter). Additionally, we offer unlimited time off, so long as folks are able to get their work done. By baking these into the foundation of our business, we are able to treat our team with the respect they deserve, prove that it can be done, and hopefully inspire other businesses to do the same,

Sabs, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Sabs (she/her), I’m a content creator and a cofounder of a nonprofit called Intersectional Environmentalist (IE): a 501(c)(3) climate justice collective radically imagining a more equitable and inclusive future of environmentalism. We do this through creating and sharing educational resources on environmental justice (EJ), developing programming for community building and connection, and encouraging folks to support grassroots EJ groups and organizations as a whole.

So much of climate philanthropy is directed towards conservation with only a small percentage directed towards climate justice efforts, which support communities on the front lines of this crisis. We hope to raise awareness about the intersections of social and environmental justice, while empowering folks to take action in their own way. I’m most proud of the incredible reach and community we’ve built over the last 3 years since we’ve been around. It’s not uncommon for me to meet someone and tell them about my work, only to find out that they’ve already heard of IE and follow us on Instagram. It’s validating to know that our work is important and necessary – and that there are people out there ready to learn and take action.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Climate optimism. When we first started, we realized how difficult it was to constantly be inundated with negative news stories surrounding the climate crisis. But the reality is: we have all the solutions we need to reverse it right now; in fact, we could start tomorrow. Unfortunately governments, corporations and profiteers are holding us back and forcing leadership to drag their feet or worse – make it more difficult to adopt sustainable solutions.

Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for leadership to take action. As individuals, we all have our own agency, no matter how small we think we are. We aim to empower people to take action in their own communities because that’s where we have the most power: on the grassroots level. And case study after case study proves that action on the ground works. Using climate optimism, we hope to inspire and empower change because we need to remember that there’s a beautiful future we’re all fighting for.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Give people a chance to learn and shine. I’ve worked in past jobs where my supervisor would micromanage me and it does nothing but cause resentment and stunt growth. Teams hire people for a reason: because of the valuable perspective and skills they bring to your organization. If you’re a manager and not allowing your teammates to do things their own way (within reason of course), step back a little. You need to give them space to become the most reliable, effective teammate they can be.

Contact Info:

• Website: intersectionalenvironmentalist.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/sustainablesabs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/intersectionalenvironmentalist/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intersectional-environmentalist
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/isxenviro?lang=en#:~:text=Intersectional%20Environmentalist%20(%40isxenviro)%20%2F%20Twitter
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIOWjfj7sVODZTmCeGPS9gA
• Other: instagram.com/intersectionalenvironmentalist