Doug Martens’s Freedom Retreat: A Taste of Retirement
At Clickstop, we don’t just talk about work-life balance; we live it.
Meet Doug Martens, a member of our Freight team, who recently embarked on a 12-week Freedom Retreat. For some of our employee-owners, this unique benefit is a way of introducing the freedom of retirement into the present, allowing employees to enjoy an extended retreat for personal enrichment.
Doug Drafts a Plan
The allure of 12 weeks to discover passions, relax, and rejuvenate captured Doug’s imagination when the Freedom Retreat was introduced as a new benefit a few years ago. Inspired by his wife’s retirement experience, Doug sought to grasp the sense of limitless exploration and spontaneous living.
In addition to creating a financial plan for this partially paid sabbatical, Doug created a plan alongside his teammate Allen to ensure a smooth transition of his work. Clickstop’s Freedom Retreat and Sabbatical benefits aren’t just a benefit to employees. It creates opportunities for reprioritization, evaluation, and cross-training of the work completed every day. Critical emails were rerouted, work was prioritized, and responsibilities were clearly defined. Allen admirably managed the workload, making Doug’s return seamless.
Expectations and Reality
For many of us, it’s not clear how easily we’d unplug from work after being focused on our careers for so long. For Doug, this unique benefit allowed him to detach from a nearly 47-year work routine and get a taste of retirement.
Doug’s retreat spanned from September 11 to December 1. While initially Doug and his wife had expectations of traveling to Ireland for 3 weeks during the retreat, their plans had to evolve due to things outside of their control.
They took this disruption as an opportunity to focus on reconnecting, and relishing each other’s company. Instead of a flight across the pond, they took a week and traveled down to Branson, MO to relax and visit wineries. They even brought their dog Snickers along for the ride.
When Doug wasn’t traveling, he was busy creating new habits and expanding on his current passions. He established a new morning routine, dedicating 40 minutes daily to exercise, resulting in a positive impact on his health. He also expanded on his love for reading, devouring 30 books. Part of that effort included wrapping up a series of 62 books by Stuart Woods he’d started in April, and joined the local library’s challenge to read six books that won Oscars as films.
“What was rewarding was the ability to just let go of work and focus on me,” said Doug. “As someone who has been in the workforce for nearly 47 years, this has been the longest time away from work that I have spent to just focus on life.”
Contrary to his expectations of having work withdrawals, Doug returned with a newfound and unexpected energy. He jumped back into his work revitalized and eager.
Reflections of an Employee Owner
Doug’s Freedom Retreat showcased Clickstop’s commitment to its employee-owners. The experience reinforced his appreciation for a company that values its people outside of the workplace, ensuring a workforce with the energy and excitement needed to propel Clickstop forward.
“Being able to take the Freedom Retreat,” said Doug, “made me realize that as an employee-owner, we have a great company that allows someone to get the opportunity to take this type of time to regain perspective.”
Doug’s advice to others planning their Freedom Retreat is simple – create a financial plan to use the benefit after your fifth anniversary. Whether you make a detailed plan for that time away or not, just do what feels good and relax.
The Freedom Retreat isn’t just a break; it’s a chance to rediscover life and return to work with a renewed spirit.