Imagine walking on a beach at the end of the world - a compulsory leave experiment at SimpliFlying -

If you don't take a week off every two months you will lose one week of pay. That, in short, is our new leave policy. We have had unlimited leave for a long time, but this update, inspired by a TED talk, was surely unexpected.

It is also something that many do not believe to be real or possible. A company's success, they say, is measured in hours of work and a good employee is one that arrives early and leaves late. I beg to differ.

We live in a world where change happens faster every day, where a company's survival is based on adaptability, creativity, and flexibility. As consultants, we see this every day, and we know that these skills require a lot of mental energy. We also know that this energy requires sleep, rest and balance to be created.

Overworked managers all over the world are running from their offices to Yoga classes and Zen rooms, but they are running. Always running.  That's why when our new policy was introduced my first decision was not to run.

I chose to avoid long trips and headed to something I had been obsessed with for a long time: the "end of the world", Finisterre. A remote peninsula on the northwestern tip of Spain that in roman times was believed to be the end of Earth. For a map and travel geek like me, it was also heaven on earth.  

Our leave policy is also rather strict: no reading or answering work messages on any medium - penalty: lose a week of pay.

I disconnected all my work accounts and spent the first two days walking along beaches and mountain paths. I was alone, disconnected from work, at the end of the world. It took a bit to adjust but it felt amazing.

I then started moving around and visiting other cities using trains and busses but always taking it easy.  As a rule, I decided that I had to enjoy travelling. I always slept a lot and never travelled for more than 3 hours. I wrote in my travel diary, took lots of pictures and spent most of my travel time looking out of the window.

In a week, I visited Finisterre, Santiago, A Coruna, Vigo, and Porto. At one point, I saw a new city every day. The most important thing, however, is that I came back fully charged, ready for a busy season.

It felt good, and it reminded me why I do what I do. Our company has always been a bit different and that's why I joined it.  

We never had a physical office, everyone lives wherever he or she wants to, there are no office hours and we see each other somewhere around the world 3 or 4 times a year. The most important thing, however, is that people do this job because they love it, not because they want to make money.

We are not trying to get rich and shopping around for higher wages all the time. We have  a job that is integrated into our lives, that pays us back by allowing time to see our friends every evening, to spend time with our families and really live. That to me is worth much more than money.

I just wish that other companies realized that talent can be rewarded with something other than money and that location is not really that important.

Imagine being able to choose the best person in the whole world for the job, and not just the best amongst those who are willing to move to wherever your company happens to be.

Imagine working and having a life at the same time.

Imagine how sad it would be if your life ended and you had not lived it

Imagine what would happen if you changed your way of working and joined our revolution.