Out of Office: How Time Away Fosters Workplace Resilience

English
Written By Tab Berger

A black-and-white line drawing of a beach chair and umbrella by Yulia Sutyagina

I have always been a huge proponent of mental health in the workplace. As a leader, I am dedicated to fostering a safe environment for my team members. So when Cisco pivoted to a model of unlimited time away in 2024, I was initially worried for my team. I know how important time away from work is to wellness, and I had heard anecdotally that companies that adopt this model for time away often see employees take less time off, not more. I was concerned that my team members would be reluctant to use their time away, leading to additional stress and burnout. I decided to explore the research to better understand the impact and how I could support my team members.

According to the research study Unlimited Paid Time Off Policies: Unlocking the Best and Unleashing the Beast, the availability of unlimited time off alone does not inherently harm employee well-being. In fact, the idea sounds promising: employees are granted autonomy to decide when and how much time off they need. This autonomy can lead to positive psychological outcomes, such as reduced stress, increased energy, and improved overall well-being. This is apparently a huge draw for job seekers, especially in the US where the average leave is just 10 days per year, and there is no federal minimum. [3]

However, the study reports that “while [unlimited paid time off] is a popular benefit for attracting and retaining talent, early adopters have reported that employees often take less time off, potentially leading to higher burnout rates.” [1] This is because unlimited time off policies come with unspoken social pressures. Employees may avoid taking time off for fear they’ll let their team down or disrupt shared goals. They may feel informal expectations to limit their time off to avoid appearing uncommitted. This creates a paradox where the unlimited freedom to take leave turns into an unspoken obligation not to, which can erode the intended benefits of the policy.

However, this research underscores a critical insight: team and organizational culture are the key drivers of whether unlimited time off succeeds or backfires. To ensure team members are taking the amount of leave they need to be successful comes down to recovery culture. This ethos prioritizes and values recovery so that employees can mentally, physically, and emotionally recharge. [1] When leaders prioritize recovery, we can lay the foundation for a healthier, happier, and more productive workplace.

Self-Care as System Maintenance

As a leader, your team is always looking to you for social cues, so recovery culture starts with your own self-care. I once saw a Tumblr post that stuck with me that compared self-care to system maintenance. The post contained an image of a construction sign that read:

"WARNING: If you don’t schedule regular system maintenance, your equipment will schedule it for you."

Maintenance is crucial for ensuring a system remains functional. If you don’t proactively maintain it, it will inevitably break down, often when you least expect it. In software, two key phases of maintenance are called corrective maintenance (fixing reported bugs or failures) and preventive maintenance (proactively addressing potential problems before they manifest). [2]

Like any complex system, human beings need maintenance, too! Time away is like preventative maintenance. Research on stress and recovery shows that four recovery experiences have been shown to have beneficial effects for employees in terms of well-being: [4]

  • Detachment: Mentally distancing oneself from work

  • Relaxation: Low activation and increased positive affect

  • Control: Ability to choose between different activity options

  • Mastery: Challenging experiences and the opportunity to learn new things [4]

One of the things I do as preventative maintenance now is practice meditation. I had the notion before I started practicing regularly that meditation was more like corrective maintenance, something you do to calm down when you’re stressed or overwhelmed. I learned through experience that it was more about promoting long-term resilience through regular practice. My teacher relates it to refilling a stapler – you don’t put in one individual staple every time you need to staple something. You fill it up in advance with many staples, so the tool is ready to use when you need it. Meditation practice is like refilling your mental reserves of resiliency.

Now I’m not going to be that guy that tells you that you need to go out and meditate, but I encourage you to find your own version of this. Use your time away to recharge and engage in activities that foster relaxation and meaningful connections, such as spending time in nature, reading, connecting with loved ones, or engaging in hobbies.

Fostering Recovery Culture

In addition to your own self-care, there are many steps you can take as a leader to encourage these attitudes among your direct reports. In teams with a strong recovery culture, there is a shared awareness that taking time off is important and valuable. They encourage and enable one another to prioritize recovery, creating an environment where employees feel supported in stepping away when they need it. According to the research on unlimited time off “Teams with a supportive recovery culture may stimulate their team members to take more regular/longer leave,” [1] which promotes their own preventative maintenance.

Here are some of the ways I have actively supported recovery culture among my team over the past year:

  • Unplug: Mentally distancing yourself from work is essential. Encourage employees to fully unplug during their time off—no emails, no Webex messages, no project updates, and make sure you lead by example and do the same.

  • Leave a clean desk: This is especially important when you work from home. Avoid ruminating on work tasks while away by leaving a clean desk. I have a completely portable office setup and at the end of the day, my laptop, stand, keyboard and mouse all are stowed away in a drawer - out of sight, out of mind!

  • Find Purpose: Highlight the importance of activities that provide a sense of meaning, such as volunteering or pursuing personal passions. Cisco’s Time2Give program allows employees to dedicate 80 hours annually to community service. I am consistently blown away by the incredible things my team members do, from mentoring high school students, volunteering at food pantries, and more.

  • Celebrate and Share: Encourage employees to talk about their vacations, family time, or personal projects. We share updates at every team meeting, and it has been a great way to get to know each other and foster connections.

  • Normalize Recovery: Creating a culture where it’s normal to say, “I’m sick” or “I need a mental health day,” starts with the leader. This can also look like things such as taking advantage of good weather to get outside or disconnecting for a weekend getaway. One of my favorite things a former leader would do is say “It’s such a beautiful day out, why don’t we wrap up a little early today,” (especially on a Friday).


It may seem counter-intuitive to encourage your team to get out of the office, but happy, healthy employees are crucial for long-term organizational success.

Jakub Rudnik, a manager Scribe with unlimited time off policies, reported in an interview with ADP, “In most cases, you had to encourage people to take days off. Most preferred taking long vacations and didn’t just take days off at random. In my experience, employees that have this policy work harder and are more invested in the company.”[3]

With our unlimited time away policy, I applied what I learned and put conscious effort into building recovery culture to help my team be successful both in and out of work. I’ve been absolutely thrilled to see my team members taking advantage of the freedom and autonomy unlimited time away brings. They return to the office with renewed energy and focus to skillfully execute the projects they’re working on.

I would advise other leaders to just ensure there’s a plan to reprioritize work and support colleagues in their absence. I found I needed to set expectations for calendars and out-of-office messages to help with scheduling meetings and finding coverage during absences.

Creating a recovery culture is helping employees feel safe enough to take advantage of the benefits of time off.  I hope that similar policies become more normalized in other US companies so more people can center themselves, relax, and recharge outside of work. When we make recovery a shared priority, we set the foundation for a healthier, happier, and more productive workplace.

So the next time a sunny day calls your name, think of it as a reminder to practice your preventative maintenance! Step away from the office, recharge, and inspire your team to do the same.

Tab Berger

Knowledge Manager

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