How Richard Branson and Other Leaders Spend Free Time

It's no secret that we all have the right to take time off from time to time. A study published in The Wall Street Journal, proved that long work without rest leads to a decrease in productivity , deterioration of creative abilities and may even cause conflicts among colleagues. In addition, this mode is bad for the physical health of the person. What say about the holidays, Richard Branson, Marissa Mayer, John Donahoe and other world famous personalities?

It was found that excessive stress at work increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and exacerbation of existing health problems.
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The WSJ article also draws attention to the fact that, despite the undoubted benefits of rest, the United States is one of the few developed countries in which employers are not required to give employees paid leave.

However, this trend may change. Companies such as Evernote, Netflix and LinkedIn offer employees paid vacations on flexible or even arbitrary schedules.

Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems send home staff on holidays, for example, July 4th. At Charles Schwab, Motorola and Bridgestone, employees are also given a number of additional weekends throughout the year.

Of course, these “mandatory” vacations are partly designed so that workers can recuperate, but at the same time they are a way to cut costs. And, although in the end it brings undoubted benefits, do the leaders take the vacation themselves?

Like any person, the boss needs to rest from time to time to relieve the tension. This is good for inspiration and motivation, and also provides an opportunity to look at work from a different perspective and to increase its effectiveness as a manager. But how long should the vacation last?

In the eighties, executives usually took six-day vacations in the summer, most often in July or August. However, now a lot has changed. There are a certain number of factors that can affect the duration of the leave of the chief. These include the size of the organization, the qualifications of top managers, and the problems the company faces. All this should be taken into account when making plans for vacation.

Even if a manager cannot quit work for a long time, he should not completely neglect the days of proper vacation. For example, you can relax a little, just briefly forgetting about work during a business trip. Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote , told PC Magazine:

"I travel a lot. Constantly fly somewhere. Previously, like many businessmen, I tried to work on an airplane and used this time to perform some urgent matters. Then I stopped. In fact, I forbade myself to work while on the plane. I can read, play video games, watch TV or movies. Now it makes me look forward to the next flight. Soon I will have a 14-hour journey to China, and I am very happy about it! I don't have to do anything for 14 hours! ”

But Nancy Schlichting, CEO of Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System , has a different opinion: “The vacation is intended for remuneration for long-term work in the organization, therefore the longer the employee’s experience, the longer he rests.” She adds: “I’m worried about people who say they can’t take a vacation. Why can not? You start to think that they are not leaving work, as they are hiding something, while conscientious employees, on the contrary, rejoice at the opportunity to rest. I look at it this way: those who do a really good job can always afford to take a break. ”

Since there is no definite answer to this question, let's find out what six top-level managers think about this.

Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO

Hastings has publicly stated that for a balance between work and personal life, he needs six weeks of vacation each year. He also said: “This is useful. The best ideas often come to mind when you are somewhere outside the workplace, climbing uphill or doing something similar. You see the usual things in a different perspective. ”

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO

Sheryl Sandberg not only holds the position of operating director of Facebook, but also writes books. While working on Lean In, she was asked how she managed to balance between writing, working on Facebook and her personal life. Sandberg explained that she always has time because she always takes full advantage of her vacation.

Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group

This eccentric billionaire is known to love spending long vacations, traveling the world or relaxing at home on Necker Island. Branson says this:

“Concentration on entertainment gives not only rest and recuperation. When you go on vacation, your routine is interrupted; Visiting new places and meeting new people can inspire you to unexpected decisions. If an entrepreneur or company manager returns from vacation without any new ideas about reorganizing their business, consider that the time has come to make certain changes.

To completely disconnect from the outside world, I leave my smartphone at home or in a hotel room for as long as possible - a few days, if possible. I take only a notebook and a pen with me. Freed from the daily stress of everyday work, I easily find new solutions for old problems and feel a rush of inspiration. ”

Due to the fact that Branson loves to rest so much, he even set about trying to provide employees with unlimited vacation time.

John Donaghou, CEO of eBay

In 2013, in an article on LinkedIn, the CEO of eBay defended the idea of ​​giving employees a special day to think about every three months. Donaghou himself sometimes likes to close in an empty office, stand in front of a white drawing board (it should be a board, not a monitor), think about everything that happens outside, as well as problems that need to be considered in the near future.

He reflects on the latest news, on matters requiring special attention, on the changes that need to be made, and also reminds himself that there is no point in worrying about what cannot be controlled.

However, he believes that there is no decent alternative for a full holiday. For the past 28 years, Donahoe has been spending holidays with his family in a beach house on the Cape Cod Peninsula, where he has been trying to completely leave the business for two weeks.

Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!

Taking over as Yahoo! CEO, Marissa Meier has become one of the busiest executives. In an interview with Fortune, she said that during the work week she holds about 70 meetings, which takes about 10 or 11 hours a day, while she manages to fulfill her usual responsibilities for managing the company. Nevertheless, she is not overwhelmed with affairs, and copes with everything perfectly. In the same Fortune article, she explains it this way: “To recuperate, I take a week-long vacation every four months.”

Tony Schwartz, CEO, Energy Project

Schwartz, the founder and CEO of the Energy Project, as well as the author of the book Be Excellent At Anything, is convinced of the need for holidays of more than one week. But that is not all. Schwartz is also a supporter of complete separation from the outside world. The lack of distractions allows him to focus on reading , tennis lessons and entertainment. This can be called the bringing of thoughts in order.

To the question asked by the Harvard Business Review reporter, he answered: “By the end of the nine-day rest, I feel full of strength and new ideas. Thanks to the calm atmosphere, I manage to regain full control over my attention. At the same time, I rediscover for myself the deeper parts of my own consciousness. ”

PS We recommend another useful article on the subject of work on yourself - 25 productivity tools (and which of them you should not use) .

The author of the translation is Vyacheslav Davidenko, the founder of the TESTutor company.