Don’t bother calling your contact at Carlyle Group in the week beginning 16 August – they won’t be there. The company is taking a leaf out of the books of Victorian cotton mill owners and shutting down the whole firm for a week to let everyone have some time off. According to human resources head Bruce Larson, it’s part of a firmwide emphasis on wellbeing and health which has also seen “Wellness Wednesdays”, Peloton clubs and a $750 “wellbeing stipend” which employees are meant to spend on gym memberships or mindfulness podcasts (although Carlyle doesn’t actually track this, so you can spend it on booze or hamburgers if you like). READ MORE