During environmental difficulties, such as a pandemic or recession, or negative incidents in our communities, we need time to process what is happening around us and how we feel about it. We can’t be expected to know immediately how to deal with new situations we have never experienced before. Even on a micro level, we face daily stressors, such as competing deadlines or a meeting-filled workweek or personal hardships that bleed into our work against our best efforts. Thinking everything is important and urgent and tedious and heavy eventually weighs on us, wearing us down until we burn out. We can’t be expected to constantly function at 100% without ever recharging our batteries. We can’t do everything at the same time, balancing pressures from work and the world around us and our personal lives behind a façade that everything is fine, and it would be unfair for someone to ask that of us. It isn’t weak to show authenticity or humility or to admit that something is difficult or unfamiliar and that we need time to process it; leaders need to model and embrace the benefits of a pause in order for employees to know the space between their work is just as valuable as the output they produce.
The bottom line is that employees need to take breaks, and leaders need to empower them to do so.
In between all the emails and projects and phone calls and due dates and presentations is where thought occurs. From a deconstructionist view, your employees’ thoughts power the actions that makes your business operate smoothly. Without a break from the action, the thought that fuels it would never happen. And the best thing that happens during those breaks is silence.
Savor the silence
Maybe no one told you this, but…
Silence is okay.
In fact, it’s important. Vital. Necessary to a full life.
We have grown accustomed to the idea of filling every moment with something, often out of fear of missing out on an experience. We think any time spent not doing something is wasted, and we’re driven to obsess over being busy. While being busy can help you achieve goals efficiently and filling your days with variety can help you feel enlivened and fulfilled, those bursts of fullness need to be complemented with moments of rest. Instead of striving to do more, and to do it more quickly, let’s celebrate slowing down and appreciating the moments between action as being just as vital to our happiness.
Composer Claude Debussy is believed to have said, "Music is the space between the notes.” Years later, jazz musician Miles Davis was quoted as saying, “It's not the notes you play, it's the notes you don't play.” While their exact words may have been adapted over time, their sentiments remain intact: Silence enriches sound.
The importance of breaks
Breaks rejuvenate us. They allow us to step back from whatever situation we may be in and gain some perspective. How often do you feel you’re too “in the weeds” or that you’re “too close” to something to see it clearly? Maybe you need to zoom out and get a feel for the big picture rather than dealing with the details. A break can help you rediscover your purpose, your strategy, and even yourself. It can be relaxing – a calm amidst a storm – or it can be invigorating – the recharge needed to continue. Whichever way you view it, a break is a good way to refuel. You wouldn’t keep driving a car on empty; taking a meaningful pause can help you refill and get ready for the next leg of your journey.
Taking a break from work can relieve stress, enhance concentration, and provide variety that can improve creativity. Breaks allow your brain a chance to process information, to prioritize and refocus on what matters most, and to tap into your deeper, authentic self rather than react or embody a lesser version of yourself. Breaks help you separate your emotions from a situation, cool off or stop yourself from saying something you might regret, and disengage from something stressful. And they allow you a chance to engage with something you enjoy – something of your choosing – such as a song or book, which will boost happiness, optimism, and your overall mood.
At work, employees who take breaks are more productive during time spent working. It’s as though time spent away from something makes you value it more (like the old adage “distance makes the heart grow fonder”). Think about taking a few days of PTO and coming back to work feeling refreshed and re-engaged with your purpose and passion. Sometimes we get so bogged down by tedious daily tasks that we lose sight of why we chose to embark on this journey in the first place. A break can settle the dust and enable you to look inward with a clear mind. When you return to work, you’ll have a more passion-driven perspective and a more strategic understanding of the big picture, which will enhance your output and make you feel more tied to your work.
Know your decision-making style – and consider what others prefer
People differ in their preferences surrounding communication and work style and decision-making. Some people are perfectly comfortable with extemporaneous, on-the-fly thinking, while posing a question to someone else in front of a group might give them anxiety. When being faced with a question or decision, or even when choosing how to manage their workload, employees vary on a scale of “thinking it out” to “talking it out.” Some people want to know the information, then go back to their desk (however physical or metaphorical that might be) and think through the various angles and outcomes before coming back to you or the group with a response. Others enjoy sharing perspectives and stories and embracing the uncertainty of the moment with a group of colleagues. Predictive Index analyzes where on this spectrum participants fall and what that means for their workplace communication preferences. Whether you have access to a tool or not, knowing that people vary in their preferences is the first step; next, practice being both self-aware and cognizant of others’ preferences. Leaders especially can help by tailoring their communication to each team member based on whether someone prefers to think alone, talk things through, or just take a day or two before making a decision.
Embed breaks into team culture
It’s up to leaders to set the tone. When things are heavy or especially busy, leaders should encourage breaks among their team members so they know they will not be shamed for recharging, whether that be taking a ten-minute walk after finishing a project or scheduling a day of PTO to focus on mental health.
Leaders can also create a culture of encouraging breaks between projects by celebrating wins, debriefing after projects end, reflecting on processes throughout, and strategizing before launching new projects. Small, strategic breaks such as these will show employees similarly small breaks from the daily grind are allowed and are just as important.
I always advise my direct reports to take PTO (even if they don't have a vacation planned!) and to take short breaks during the workday. I want to be empathetic to the various ways people process information, make decisions, function mentally, operate professionally, attain a work-life balance, and maintain motivation and happiness.
Time away is good for employees’ mental health in addition to enhancing creativity and productivity. It allows them to zoom out of the thick of the trees to see the forest for what it is. People often return from breaks with a renewed sense of purpose, a more objective viewpoint, and a calm approach to their work.
Breaks reconnect people to their passion and their true selves and allow them the space to think, feel, and process.
It’s good for the soul, and that rubs off on everything else.
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