Just weeks after being fired from the social media business, Esther Crawford, a former top executive at Twitter, said she was taking a solo vacation.
I’m starting some solo travel with a few days in Hong Kong as my first stop since graduating from grad school. Around midnight Sunday, Crawford tweeted.
Crawford rose to fame last year when a photo of her snoozing in the Twitter offices went viral while Elon Musk boasted about his “hardcore” workplace culture.
If you’d like to follow my travel & life adventures more closely then head over to my Instagram where I share stories. This is my first time without a job since grad school so I’m heading out on some solo travel — first stop is a few days in Hong Kong! ✈️ https://t.co/zVSOZRp1LX pic.twitter.com/8AFzS2vblP
— Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) March 13, 2023
According to her LinkedIn page, the Twitter executive spent more than two years working for the company after it bought its startup Squad in 2020. She was one of Musk’s top assistants after he acquired Twitter in October and was in charge of Twitter’s new Blue subscription service before being fired in February.
Crawford shared a travel shot on Instagram on Tuesday.
She described how she “took the tram to the top of The Peak to get a great view of Hong Kong”. What a beautiful location.
Amid the sweeping layoffs, Crawford isn’t the only former Twitter executive to go on leave. After being fired as head of sales for Twitter in February, Robin Wheeler looks set to take some time off.
“Jackson Hole condition. When I ordered anything starting with Elk, Bison, or Buffalo while knee deep in dust,” Wheeler tweeted on Feb. 21.
Status: Jackson Hole. Currently knee deep in powder and ordering anything that starts with Elk/Bison/Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/KJnZQYfxLx
— Robin Wheeler (@robinw) February 22, 2023
Earlier in the month, she claimed she had just returned from “a sabbatical in Mexico”.
In her more than 20-year career, Wheeler told Insider it was the first time she took a break between jobs.
Given the circumstances, she exclaimed, “I wanted to make the most of it and spend some time relaxing and enjoying my time away!”
Before publication, Insider contacted Crawford for comment; Crawford didn’t answer.
After being laid off, Silicon Valley employees often take vacations. IT professionals often earn hefty severance pay because they are among the highest-paid employees in the US. They can also cash out their shares before departure.
The New York Times revealed last month that individuals like Crawfod, whose businesses were acquired, were often offered even higher severance packages as part of the deals.
One former Twitter employee claimed that after they left the company, the laid-off co-workers organized “all kinds of trips” from ski trips to world tours.
However, it is not known whether Twitter is offering severance packages to its laid-off employees as generous as those offered by other large firms.
Happy to report I’m home safely from my sabbatical vacay in Mexico. Home in one piece however I do think I’ll get a bit of a scolding from my esthetician. #vitaminD #girlstrip pic.twitter.com/OCKVGKM1eX
— Robin Wheeler (@robinw) February 2, 2023
According to CNN, some Twitter employees who lost their jobs in November claimed they only started receiving severance offers in January and that the amounts were much lower than they expected. In January, a U.S. district judge told five fired employees that they would have to drop their class-action lawsuit against Twitter over the company’s severance payments and instead file individual arbitration claims. Employees claimed that part of their severance package included two additional months of pay before Musk took the helm.
As the technology industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how companies adapt to changing attitudes toward work-life balance. Meanwhile, former Twitter executives like Esther Crawford and Robin Wheeler will continue to inspire others to prioritize self-care and take time off to recharge and explore the world.