The Science of Recharging on Weekends and Vacations
Worklife with Adam Grant
TED
4.8 • 9.4K Ratings
🗓️ 3 October 2023
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Many people don’t use all their paid time off from work — and struggle to relax and recover on nights and weekends too. What does it take to make our breaks more restorative? Adam examines the evidence on recovery and burnout, explores how workplaces can reimagine vacation policies, and highlights what kinds of hobbies are best suited to different times of day. Available transcripts for WorkLife can be found at go.ted.com/WLtranscripts
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, it's Adam Grant, host of the Ted Podcast to Work Life. This season, we worked with |
| 0:11.7 | our sponsor, UKG, to share amazing stories from their workplace. Stay tuned for a story |
| 0:16.7 | from our archives about Brian, who's taking big strides to promote belonging. |
| 0:21.0 | There was a so alien that I thought, this is something I definitely need to implement |
| 0:28.3 | and try out. |
| 0:30.1 | This is Shashank Nijam, founder and CEO of a small aviation consultancy, Simplifying. |
| 0:36.2 | A few years ago, he noticed that some of his team members were overworked. |
| 0:40.2 | I don't think they had taken a time off in the longest time possible. We're going to |
| 0:44.8 | try something new. |
| 0:46.4 | So he made an announcement. Everyone's going to take a week off every seven weeks. |
| 0:51.1 | That's right. Mandatory vacation for everyone. |
| 0:54.9 | So we actually added a stick to it as well from day one. |
| 0:59.2 | Wait, so you punished people if they are working? |
| 1:02.7 | Yes. On their week off, we will punish you if you're working. |
| 1:05.9 | What happens to me? How much money do I lose? |
| 1:08.6 | You lose a week's worth of pay. |
| 1:11.0 | Wow. That's very serious. |
| 1:13.6 | If you reply to any email, WhatsApp or Slack message, internally or to a client, your pay |
| 1:17.7 | will be doubt for the week. |
| 1:20.0 | Shashank is on to something. We're not just failing to take enough vacation. Even when |
| 1:24.7 | we do, we're failing to use our breaks effectively. |
| 1:28.0 | And the result is a workforce that feels like it never really gets a rest. |
... |
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