The foolish economy of not taking a break

“We don’t need a morning tea break, let’s keep working.”
“We will have a working lunch.“ 
“This is really important, so let’s keep going.”

There they are. The statements of overload and worry that ‘we won’t get through this’ so ‘we have to push on’. 

As a participant and team member I’ve experienced leaders who won’t take a break. 

And as a speaker and facilitator, I’ve had clients not want their team to take a break. I often have to fight for, advocate for or at worst, implore leaders to give people a break. 

The science is well documented: We need breaks. 

Not just to recover physically, but mentally ... to synthesise information, consolidate information and even ... go to the bathroom! 

A lot of good stuff happens in the break from the talking, thinking, listening and pushing of information. 

Connections, reflections and important thought processes are being executed. Brain actions that may not be possible during the intensity of the never-ending workshop or meeting need to happen, and a break is when it occurs. 

To think we ‘can’t afford’ to take a break is foolish. 

What are you worried will happen? 
Disengagement? Loss of momentum? Slower progress? It’s already happened because there wasn’t a break. 

At the least, break so people can empty their ‘cognitive load’ - the information they’re holding in their brain, and just like a truck we can’t carry more when it’s full. We must empty and ‘unload’ before we expect people to ‘reload’. 

Breaks are mandated in fields like aviation, healthcare, transportation, building and construction ... even retail. 

The consequences are disastrous when breaks are ignored or deemed less important than pushing on through. 

🌕 Break during a meeting or workshop 
🌕 Break between meetings and workshops
🌕 Break during intense and heavy work
🌕 And break for longer than you think. 

You don’t need a complicated well-being program. Just take more breaks.

The extroverts will take care of themselves

How are you engaging, connecting and facilitating interactions among a diverse team? 

Winging it doesn’t work. 
Letting things flow can cause problems later. 
Denying you need to do something deliberate can also be fraught. 

Introverts
Extroverts. 
Ambiverts. 

All belong. 
All have much to bring, give and contribute. 

But if you’re waiting for them, you’re missing the point of leadership. 

You can set up a process, a constraint, an activity or use deliberate techniques that will get the best out of everyone. 

This article on how ambiverts - who have both introvert and extrovert qualities - benefit the workplace is a good one. It reminds us that there are people different to us. 

And as the world of work evolves to the next phase of hybrid, returning to offices and working from anywhere, maintaining connections across difference and diversity is a necessary and powerful leadership capability. 

What are you:
- Introvert?
- Extrovert?
- Ambivert? 

Connecting with no watercooler

Many people grieve the spontaneous and serendipitous connections at the watercooler. 

Lots of moments have been lost with remote work: 
interactions in the kitchen, collecting documents from the printer, walking to and from (and in) the bathroom, riding the elevator, walking to the station or car park, strolling to the cafe, walking between meetings...

So many incidental interactions and happy collisions (or avoidance 🥸) that were happening, and now aren’t. 

Alex Howland, Ph.D. suggests 4 ways to spark watercooler moments in Forbes:
1 camera off and avatar on
2 channels for non-work conversations
3 cross functional digital events
4 creative virtual worlds. 


🎯 AND these techniques work well with teams I’ve been working with:
- drop in zoom for coffee or chat, anytime
- shorts: 12 minute check ins and catch ups
- play time: virtual casual play time, reminiscent of school days, no work only play
- commute pairs: hang out with 1 other person as you begin your work, to chat, connect and share 
- cowork: mics off and cameras on for calm companionship. 

Experiments are useful. What will you try? 

It’s the creative challenge of the changing times we’re in. 

Back-to-back is bad to worse

If the view is ‘full of colour’ when you look at your diary or schedule, you could be in the back-to-back brigade who don’t get a break. 

The scheduling - and acceptance - of a day of meetings running one into the other, is tiring, inefficient and distracting. 

This Forbes article by Bruce Rogers talks more about how our brains needs a break. 

Our ability to focus lessens as the day goes on and the cognitive load of no, or few, breaks doesn’t serve us either. 

Microsoft recently made changes to their deep down default settings in Outlook for appointment durations and scheduling. You can customize them further for your own preferences and well-being. 

This is in an effort to reduce the rotten fatigue that results from a back-to-back schedule. 

But it also takes individual, leadership and cultural shifts on ‘how we do things around here’ to bring an end to the back-to-back-badge-of-busy. 

Here’s how I roll: 
- Finish early. 
- Schedule breaks
- Block out time. 
- Protect the boundaries. 
- Model better behaviours. 

There are clear ways for us to adopt to get from bad-to-better in the breaks-for-brain game. 

What are you doing to break the back-to-back?

A high potential for ... burnout

Why is it some people working with some leaders in some environments experience burnout ... yet other don’t?

This difference is stark and at the heart of why some things fire us up ... and others burn us out. 

In this Forbes article by Alain Hunkins, it’s revealed that “engaged employees who have job flexibility tend to work more hours per week than the average employee, while reporting higher wellbeing.

“When people feel inspired, motivated and supported in their work, they do more work — and that work is significantly less stressful on their overall health and wellbeing.”

This finding was echoed in Gallup research. 

Review the article for :
🔥 the 5 causes of burnout
🔥 the 5 signs of burnout 
and, importantly, 
🔥 the 9 solutions to burnout. 

And if you’re a high potential performer with a strong work ethic, bookmark the article and keep an eye on the flames: you could be prone to burning out more than firing up.