When the holidays roll around, many professionals find themselves in work limbo, unsure of when they can really unplug from the job. For CEOs, the last stretch of 2025 is no different: Many find it hard to step away from work, especially as businesses boom during the festive season. But chief executives are taking back their holiday downtime with small wins in their work-life arrangements.
Despite the holiday season clearing out offices, sending thousands on vacation, and shutting down stores early, CEOs tell Fortune their work lives are still intense. Most say they can never truly unplug from the job, always on call if business beckons them back to their laptops. But leaders are still finding little ways to catch a breather from being CEO. Cooking helps one chief executive connect with his family, while another swears by the holiday season as a “completely sacred” time to unplug and pick up a book.
