Taking a break at work is a must!

To improve their team’s day-to-day life and look after their mental health, more and more companies are placing value on breaks at work. The benefits are many, for the company as much as for the employee: greater concentration, higher productivity, better working conditions…

How much break time should an employer grant their staff over the course of a day? Every organisation will have its own answer, bearing in mind that the legal framework states that an employee must not work more than 6 hours in a row in a single day. As soon as an employee works 6 hours in a row, they must be given a mandatory break of at least 20 consecutive minutes. (Source: ServicePublic.fr)

Everyone will form their own view on how good this legal framework is. At Morning, the organisation is built on trust. All employees are free to take the breathing space they need. That said, the HR team has also chosen to formalise a moment of respite in its processes, at the rate of half a day per month.

In April 2023, Clément Alteresco (CEO of Morning) set out his vision of the break at work in a LinkedIn op-ed: “My dream is for the company to help people find their rhythm. To my mind, you are never as productive and happy as when you are in your own personal rhythm. And the break — to a certain extent — contributes to that.” Here we set out some ideas and practices at Morning for freeing up break time for the whole team.

☞ The break at work, to shake up the rigid framework of the 8-hour working day

The 8-hour day is a workers’ demand that is more than 100 years old. It was championed by the Confédération générale du travail (CGT) and numerous socialist MPs, who tabled several draft laws in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The First World War and the economic context of reconstruction that followed the 1918 armistice made it possible to see this demand through.

But today’s world of work and a great many jobs no longer fit within this framework of the 8-hour law. This framework doesn’t match the realities of certain jobs, nor the reality of days that vary so much from one week to the next. In fact, these jobs often allow for far more flexibility than they actually grant. Every organisation is entitled to question this reality and offer its employees a way to find their own rhythm.

☞ The break at work, to breathe and find your own rhythm

Within a team, each person will have their own rhythm, their own constraints, their own personal balance. Clément Alteresco explains this point:  
“Some take their time, others are rockets. Some prefer to work 3 hours, go for a 1-hour run, take a nap and then work another 4 hours. Perfect, as long as it’s in their rhythm. You are never as productive and happy as when you are in your own personal rhythm.”

In such a context, the break can help find this deeply personal balance. We’re not talking here about a 15-minute break at the coffee machine. This is a real break that gives some “slack” in the schedule, to ease off and re-order your priorities.

☞ “Imposing” the break at work, within a formal framework

Organisations have a thousand and one ways to shake up this rhythm. At Morning, employees enjoy half a day off per month, which they use as they see fit. It is neither a day off in lieu nor annual leave.

The HR team set out to establish a monthly break that allows everyone to clear their head and step out of their routine: sleeping in a little, going to the hairdresser, seeing an exhibition, developing a freelance project or caring for a loved one… There are only two conditions to respect in order to take your half-day: it must not extend your annual leave, nor be carried over and added up.

No one is obliged to take their half-day, of course, but this formal framework encourages and legitimises the act of taking your half-day break.  For some entrepreneurs, this idea isn’t necessarily relevant in a company culture where trust and freedom of action prevail. In that case, everyone would naturally give themselves permission to take a break without any process. But Clément Alteresco insists: “Over the years, we’ve noticed that if you don’t clearly put in place the official option to take a break, people don’t do it. Even if you tell them they can. This is especially true for newcomers who have just joined the company.”

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You now know pretty much everything about the half-day break at Morning. If you have any questions or ideas to enrich the subject, don’t hesitate to leave us a comment in the field below!***

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