Salient: Love Fridays

Finding the Balance in Recruitment

When you think about high performance in a recruitment environment, long hours, stress and less work life balance comes to mind. At Salient, however, we believe a healthy balance between personal and working lives is a big factor in helping people perform at their best.

To bring this to life, we introduced 'Love Fridays' - an initiative where everyone gets an extra Friday off each month to do whatever they like - whether that means more travel, seeing family and friends, or just chilling out at the pub with your dog.?

How Less Can be More?

Much of the research on performance indicates that rest is best. People are more resilient, more creative, and more productive when they take time to rest and recharge. But when it comes to work-life balance, Australia isn't really leading the charge. Salient Director, Yvette Midwinter explains: "that old narrative of 'work longer hours to get ahead' is really hardwired into Australian work culture. When we first introduced the Love Friday initiative, we really struggled to get our team to use it. It took a lot of encouragement and creativity to start but once the team experienced first hand how recharging could positively impact their mindset and performance, it really took off."

People and Culture Lead, Mark Ellis is now a convert - "that time to re-energise over a long weekend means I can give more to others and my role - as an extroverted introvert I love socialising and tend to lead a fairly busy life in Sydney, but I also need time alone to recharge." Senior Consultant Michael echoes this sentiment - "with so much happening in the world of recruitment, taking extra time to unwind, switch off, and refresh enables me to take on the next week with new energy and focus."

What you'll find us doing on our Fridays off...

Kacey?

"I like to plan my Love Fridays so I'm able to spend a long weekend switched off and out of the city. I use it as a chill day which usually consists of swimming, reading, and relaxing at the beach."

Alex

"It all depends on the week I’ve had. Sometimes I like to do a lot of life admin - sometimes it can be all about self-love. This could be a massage, haircut, or a cheeky lay-in, or maybe a surf and a good book. In November, I used my Friday off for some physiotherapy and clocked some extra KMs for my Mental Metres challenge. Over 30-days I ran 1000km, raising $26.5k for Mental Health charity?Alive.org.au."

Michael

"There's nothing more I love doing than heading off on a drive up the coast and straight to a quiet beach with a coffee to have a fish – seeing the fishing boats leave and dock while the sun is rising and hopefully something is biting on the rod."

Yvette

"These days are precious time for me to spend with my one-year-old twin boys, Jax and Koah. Our adventures (and misadventures!) include the park, zoo trips, or even just staying at home to trash the house… ?? I like to switch off tech when I'm with them and really surrender to the slow chaos that is a twin baby's day."

Mark

"Having an extra Friday off per month offers me a chance to spend long weekends down the coast, more time to take the dog to the beach, and a chance to see more of Australia. As a keen traveller, I've certainly missed this during COVID!"

And the keys to staying balanced in this industry?

Not everyone will have the luxury of an extra long weekend each month. But there is still lots you can do to find your own balance.?Here are some top tips from our team:?

Alex

"Plan out your day, understand what activities on your list are high priority, and have good engagement from a client perspective. By blocking out your calendar and just giving yourself the time to complete tasks, you'll quickly find that it is all possible.

Beyond that, I've recently gotten into breathing work and yoga, and I'm always getting lost in a new audiobook or podcast, educating myself on others' stories of mental health or wellbeing."

Michael

"Reserve a bit of time for yourself. Our jobs can be so tied up with timelines, due dates, and activities (especially with working from home and a high-demand market), it can sometimes feel never-ending. That will eventually lead to burnout if you don't find balance. Take time for yourself, maybe have an early afternoon, relax in the sun, go for a swim, etc. I find there's nothing better for wellbeing than being able to switch off completely outdoors."

Mark

"Work and life can be stressful, so it's incredibly important to reflect and make sure you're taking care of yourself. If you're not sure what helps you relax, I would recommend trying different things and starting small. Perhaps, like me, getting out for a walk each morning will help. Start with five minutes each day and build from there.??

I'd also recommend reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. This book has certainly helped me ingrain positive routines. Just some simple changes can have a massive impact."

Kacey

"Find a hobby you love! In a recruitment role, you're always switched on –? checking emails, LinkedIn, etc. I think it's good to have something you enjoy in the evenings or weekends to focus on and switch off from your job.

When I'm working from home I also ensure I take a proper lunch break and go for an ocean swim or a walk. I tend to find myself getting on a roll with a task, so setting time aside to take a break is very important."

Yvette

"Build up a discipline in allocating time for yourself. When things get busy or stressful at work, it's natural that the first thing you sacrifice is a planned gym session or catching up with a friend. But every time you resist doing this and stick to your blocked 'me time', you're strengthening the brain muscles that help you to switch off. Hopefully, you'll eventually be able to do this on command (even if just partially).

Healthy compartmentalisation is so important for mental health, particularly in the new world of remote working where it's so easy for work-life to bleed into home life."

How would you spend your Love Fridays? Interested in joining the team at Salient? Reach out to Mark Ellis.