At IDeaS, we invest in the whole person. We provide the resources, benefits and flexibility for you to be your best, at work and at home, with a variety of unique perks – including our Global Recharge Days. Whether you spend time with family, pursue personal growth, or simply step away, we encourage you to rest so you can return ready for what’s next.
As much as we strive for innovation and operational excellence, we know that it doesn’t just happen by staying “on” all the time. Sometimes the most valuable thing you can do is step back, regroup, and recharge. That’s the idea behind Global Recharge Day.
Designed to create space for rest, reflection, and connection, Recharge Day is one of the ways IDeaS invests in our team members’ well-being. To support client needs while still encouraging everyone to disconnect, team members can choose from multiple Recharge Day options, each designed to create fewer meetings and more opportunities to recharge.
So, what does recharging actually look like?
We spoke with three team members from across the globe to learn how they spent their Recharge Day, what they gained from the experience, and why investing in yourself matters.
Reconnecting With What Matters Most
For Jenn Kirscher, Senior Manager of Communications in the United States, Recharge Day was part of a larger opportunity to spend three weeks in Europe reconnecting with an old friend and introducing her daughter to Europe.
Although her Recharge Day was technically spent on an airplane, it opened the door for Kirscher to balance work responsibilities with the flexibility to explore both London and Spain during her time abroad, creating space for both professional commitments and personal experiences.
But the most meaningful experience was spending time with her daughter, who had just graduated from grad school a few days ahead of the trip. “It was her first time in Europe,” Kirscher said about her daughter. “Seeing the experience through her eyes and spending that uninterrupted time together made it incredibly special.”
The impact of that time away extended beyond the trip itself. Returning with renewed energy helped her approach work more intentionally and thoughtfully. “Things that used to feel stressful now feel manageable,” Kirscher said. “I’m taking them one step at a time.”
But Kirscher’s perspective on Recharge Day extends beyond her own experience. As a people leader, she sees taking time away as an important part of helping teams perform at their best over the long term.
With that, she actively encourages her team to use their time off and views Recharge Day as more than another benefit.
“I’m a strong believer in encouraging my team to fully use their time off, including Recharge Day,” Kirscher said. “People do their best work when they have time to step away, spend time with family, or simply recharge. I think of it less as work-life balance and more as work-life integration.”
Best of Both Worlds: Learning & Reloading
For many people, recharging means slowing down. For Ramesh Choudhary, Sr. Associate Technical Support Engineer in Pune, it meant something a little different.
With the extra time, he traveled to his hometown to attend AWS Summit Mumbai where he explored emerging cloud technologies, learned from industry leaders, and connected with fellow technology professionals. Afterward, he spent time celebrating a couple of birthdays with his friends.
“What made the day meaningful was the balance between professional growth and personal connection,” Choudhary said. “The summit inspired me with new ideas and perspectives, while spending time with friends helped me recharge and enjoy the moment.”
For someone working in technology, stepping outside routine can often be where growth happens. “It’s easy to get caught up in daily responsibilities,” he said. “But growth often happens when we step outside our routine, meet new people, and expose ourselves to new ideas.”
His experience offers another example of what it means to invest in yourself. Sometimes that’s rest. Other times, it’s pursuing opportunities that challenge your thinking while making time for the people and experiences that keep you energized.
For Choudhary, Recharge Day offered both.
When Wellbeing Becomes Culture Creation
In the United Kingdom, Sharon McCulloch, Director of Learning & Development, spent Recharge Day with a longtime friend while attending Farm-Fest, a new music festival celebrating agriculture, food, and live entertainment.
“The UK weather didn’t disappoint,” Sharon said. “Having that extra day in the weekend just makes you relax that bit more than usual. It gives you a renewed energy and definitely sparks more creative thinking, for me, anyway!
As a leader in Human Resources, McCulloch has a unique view into how wellbeing programs are experienced across the organization. What stands out to her isn’t any single benefit, but how flexibility and support work together to create an environment where people can prioritize what they need.
“I see firsthand that there’s a real drive to provide support that’s actually helpful, not just well-intentioned.” McCulloch points out. “We push the boundaries where we can to accommodate individual needs. There’s a genuine interest in people, not just the roles they’re in.”
For McCulloch, that commitment only works when leaders actively participate in it themselves. Creating a culture where people feel comfortable taking time away starts with showing that it’s not only accepted, but encouraged.
“I see it as part of my job to normalize taking holidays or recharge time, and to show that we actually enjoy it.”
When leaders make space to recharge, they give others permission to do the same. That’s when wellbeing shifts from being something a company offers to something people genuinely feel empowered to embrace.
Invest In What’s Next
The experiences of Kirscher, Choudhary, and McCulloch look very different on the surface. One spent time traveling with family, one attended technology summits, and one enjoyed a festival with an old friend.
Yet all three reflect the same philosophy: investing in yourself isn’t one-size-fits-all. Sometimes it’s rest. Sometimes it’s learning. Sometimes it’s time with the people who matter most.
At IDeaS, we understand that supporting great work means supporting the whole person. That’s why programs like Global Recharge Day are designed to give team members the flexibility and space to recharge in the way that works best for them.
Interested in joining a company that invests in your growth, well-being, and future? Explore career opportunities at IDeaS and discover how we’re helping team members around the world bring their best selves to work every day.