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Equating 20% time to murder seems like a bit of an overreaction. Do you do that often?

Anyway, you're asking a room full of developers what they would want and they're telling you. 20% time is a solution that works. Toiling away on the same problem day after day sucks and it gets boring. 20% time breaks up the drudgery.

I suspect that you don't want to solve the developer's problems though, just your own.

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I agree, I overreacted. We had 20% rules for few years with mixed results, but put this practice on hold till Summer. Maybe we will not see such problems when it will be back.

I hope for the best for you with this. In my experience, the mixed results are part of the process. Think of it more as R&D costs rather than "loss" per se, and it may be easier for you (and your investors) to think about.

Management is hard. We're all learners when it comes to working with people, especially when some of the people are smarter than we are. Keep learning!

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