Hey there. Orianna here from Fortune.
The average CEO pulls 62-hour workweeks—around 10 hours a day plus a few more on the weekend. And they’re even at it on holiday. For workers, it can mean a steady stream of out-of-hours demands, whether they’re on duty or not. But after losing “years” of his life to overworking, you won’t catch U.S. Polo’s CEO J. Michael Prince contacting his team on a Saturday morning.
“One thing I try to respect is—and this never really happened to me throughout my career—unless there’s something major going on, I try to leave people alone in the evenings, so you rarely ever get an email or text from me after the office,” Prince exclusively tells me.
Despite running a $2.7 billion 24/7 global brand, complete with 1,200 stores across 190 countries and charity polo events at Windsor Castle alongside Prince William, he leaves the office at 5:30 p.m., his team won’t get a text from him after hours unless urgent, and even on long weekends he gives everyone Friday to Monday and goes dark.
“I leave the office, and I really try to respect people’s weekends, because I feel like that’s your family time, that’s your personal time, that’s your friendship time, that’s your time to reset, recharge spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally.”
It’s a rare feat for someone who runs a business that spans retail and weekend sporting events. But Prince knows too well the toll being always on takes. To get to where he is today, Prince pulled 90-hour work weeks, including all-nighters, and says he “probably lost some years” of his life thanks to overworking.
And Prince isn’t the only major CEO who’s installed some boundaries—and told their teams to do the same. Netflix cofounder Marc Randolph kept a hard cutoff every Tuesday at 5 p.m. for over 30 years to keep himself “sane.” Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel makes time to work out twice a day and “fully uses up” all his annual leave every year. And even JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon takes all of his annual leave and tells his workforce they need to “work smart” too to prioritize their work-life balance.
As Prince reminded me, a career runs from your 20s until your late 60s, and skipping lunch daily, burning the midnight oil, and running on four hours of sleep simply isn’t sustainable for decades on end.
“Work hard, but also take care of yourself,” he advises ambitious professionals. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
—Orianna Rosa Royle
Success Associate Editor, Fortune
Got a career tip or dilemma? Get in touch: orianna.royle@fortune.com. You can also find me on LinkedIn, TikTok, X, and Instagram.
