We are not batteries

Or my spirited rant about the question, "How was your break?"

We went to Norway!

Hi! My name is Bree, and I write about how to have better days at work. Subscribe for writing on everything from building cozy teams to living a Portfolio Life. You’ll also be the first to know about book launch events and giveaways—Today Was Fun will hit bookstores July 2025!

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Today, countless Zoom meetings will begin with the singular question:

How was your break?

This is the worst question. To be clear I hold no judgment of anyone asking it, this is just the nomenclature we’ve developed in business today. In many ways the question makes sense: In the context of a work environment, a week or two “off” is a “break” from that work context.

The problem is, the lexicon assumes that our work context is our default; that our primary mode as humans is working. In other words, is the zebra white with black stripes, or black with white stripes? Is a “break” a stripe painted upon a life of work? Or is work layered upon the skin of our lives?

I have the same gripe with the word “recharged”, as surely seen in scores of CEO communications this week: “I hope everyone is feeling refreshed and recharged.” It makes me want to yell back, “THAT BREAK WASN’T FOR YOU! IT WAS FOR ME!” That CEO statement, as maybe well intentioned it is, assumes that the purpose of the “break” was only a necessary nod to the entirely-missing-the-point argument that peak performance requires rest. That CEO is saying, in other words, “I hope all of you, my batteries, used that break to ensure you can now do more and better work for me.”

This sentiment, expressed explicitly or implicitly, is why I’ve always felt such anxiety returning from a “break”. What if the holidays were kind of exhausting and I didn’t do my job as a good battery and recharge? Maybe family situations depleted me, or maybe I went on a fabulous adventurous trip, but either way, it’s hard to reconcile my belief that those weeks were my time with the notion that it should have been used to prepare myself for work.

The notion of a “break” also brings up the age old question: What, exactly, did I sell to my employer? For many full-time, salaried, knowledge workers I know it can feel that you’ve sold your whole existence, and you only get your life back if you ask for it in a PTO request form. But that’s not right philosophically or legally. Your employer did not own your “break” and has no right to hold any expectations about what you did with it.

Whew. Spirited rant over.

What I hope is that we can come as we are this week. Still reeling from Uncle Joe’s political rants. Still half in the mountains with the fresh air and the revelry of a snowball fight. Or maybe thrilled to be going back to work because we genuinely missed our coworkers and projects and (for the parents out there) the ability to drink a cup of coffee while it’s still hot. I hope that we all spent the last week or two enjoying our finite days on the planet. And that whatever level of “charge” we’re at is okay, because your employer is employing you, the human—not you, the battery.

And while “How was your break?” may still be the default question and super awkward to replace with “How was your life?” I hope we can all say it with the understanding that that “break” was the good stuff. (Or you can test drive “How was your New Years?” or “How were your holidays?” or “What did you do the last few weeks?”)

Off we go! Happy Monday : )

P.S. I’m forever trying new formats for this newsletter and will be testing out more frequent and shorter (if I can manage it) posts. To start, I have lots of thoughts and tips on resolutions that I’m excited to share. One of my resolutions is called “Grandpa mornings” and the other is all about bacteria. Aren’t you excited to hear more? ; )

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