How about an extra month off?

"The ability to innovate, to refresh, to look at things from a new perspective is needed more than ever, as everything has accelerated and innovation cycle times have shortened, especially in the technology and telecoms sectors. But it is not possible to adapt to this in a mindless way" - says Enikő Szalai, Deputy CEO HR at Yettel. That's why the "Recharge Programme" was launched, which means one month of paid leave every five years, which can only be taken in one month (but can be supplemented by annual leave or days of it) in agreement with managers and area managers.

In a company of 1,800 employees this year, about 180 people are eligible to take leave (with 5, 10 or 15 etc. years of service this year, divisible by 5), and in the first six months about 40 colleagues have taken or indicated that they would take advantage of the option. Once eligible, the extra leave can be taken within two years. The idea behind the one-month period is that in order to really switch off, you need at least three weeks of rest, as you need to "wind down" at the beginning, and then, as at the end of "normal" leave, you start to mentally prepare yourself to return to work, which is how the decision to go for one month was made.

Organising the holiday

The "Recharge" period should be uninterrupted, i.e. you should not be available to your colleague, answer emails or calls at work. Employees delegate their tasks within their teams or their managers manage their replacement. Enikő Szalai stressed the mental difference between "normal" leave and recharge, as the latter means a different kind of disengagement from work. However, this requires a lot of preparation and work organisation.

While the introduction of the scheme is certainly a positive for employee wellbeing and engagement, as well as for the employer brand, care has also been taken to ensure that business continuity is not compromised and that the schedule does not significantly increase the burden on replacement workers. At the same time, as everyone who meets the criteria is entitled to this leave, a sense of reciprocity among colleagues is important in the event that they are temporarily overloaded.

Financing lost working time and substitutions, as well as possible overtime, is a cost for the company, but as Enikő Szalai said, as a people-oriented company, these benefits are of value to them, and they expect to see a return in increased loyalty and positive turnover.

"Leisure time is valued in creating work-life harmony and is one of the most important aspects for employees after salary, so as an employer, this programme is a unique offer that potential candidates will jump on and say it would be great to work here. And benefits also play an important role in retention, as it is a way of belonging to the community and conveying that you are valued and recognised by the company," says Enikő Szalai.



A quote from one of her colleagues explains how she was received by her colleagues:

"It was unbelievable for me to be given a month off work, when you are not allowed to work, log into internal systems and can only take off in one go. I was determined to take advantage of it as soon as possible, lest I wake up and lose this dream-like leave. Then I started planning what I was going to do for the 1 month."

I decided to take the opportunity to use the time to get out and enjoy my dream of a dream vacation.

How did it start? Who used it, for what?

HR held frontal briefings at the launch of the programme, followed by HR Business Partners meeting with each area and team separately. And individual and administrative questions were answered in writing through the HR system. The HR manager explained that the administrative system has a separate "tab" for "Recharge" - where each person can see when they are eligible for leave, and through this they can indicate their request for leave, so that they can check with their manager in good time to ensure they are properly prepared for this period. Where appropriate, you should not only delegate tasks within your own team, but also coordinate with the different departments you work with, as their work and projects may be affected by the absence. In the finance teams, for example, where the busiest period for work is typically between August and November, it has been agreed that this type of leave will not be taken during this period.

Here are just a few examples of what staff did during the special leave month:

"In consultation with my manager, it was easy to find a suitable time to start the leave of absence. I knew immediately what I was going to do with it. I spent most of the time with my family and took up new hobbies - learning a language, painting, climbing walls."

I knew exactly when to start.

"During my 1 month off, I relaxed, travelled, hiked, gardened and really enjoyed the holiday, which flew by. I can say that I was totally recharged."

"I bought a plane ticket as soon as I found the date; I travelled half the time, then relaxed and enjoyed the beginning of summer."

"I was at Recharge in May when it unfortunately rained quite a lot, but when the weather was good I worked in our garden. The best thing was that I was able to forget about work, which cleared my head, I slept well at night and my diet became more balanced."

"I spent most of my time off planning my upcoming wedding, so in that sense I was very happy to have the opportunity to focus on that one thing and not worry about how I was going to organise things while working. The rest of my time was spent relaxing and keeping busy at home."

I was only able to focus on one job and concentrate on the work I had to do.

Renewal, new perspective

The teams were mostly able to find suitable times for absence, coordinate it with days off and holidays already scheduled, with some advance preparation and time to prepare, the handover transfer worked according to the reports. Colleagues were pleased to be able to relax, do things they hadn't had time to do before and bring their renewed energy back to work.

"The experience so far is that colleagues' enthusiasm increases after returning, the temporary distance opens up new perspectives and gives them a clearer view of their own work, what they might do differently. Although burnout is increasingly talked about in Hungary, it is still much less accepted than in Western Europe. So it's a very important experience to see that, for example, a colleague who worked very hard and got tired of it, after taking Rrecharge leave in addition to her annual leave, during which she was away for almost two months, came back replaced", says Enikő Szalai, illustrating the situation with a concrete example.

The unanimous advice to colleagues facing the prospect of taking leave is to plan carefully and make good use of the time available. As one of them wrote:

"Returning is not so easy. A change of perspective has taken place, and we have definitely entered the 'grey' weekdays in a better state. I wish everyone had the opportunity to do so; to travel, read, spend time with themselves, plan the next period in their lives in peace."

The new day has been a happy one.

Picture of Enikő Szalai

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