After three decades of building a demanding career, Angela Cheng-Cimini realised she wanted something different from work and life. The senior HR professional stepped away from her role as chief HR officer and chose a less conventional path.
Instead of retiring completely, she now works just three days a week and calls the arrangement her “rewirement”.
However, the demands of the job followed her home. “I didn’t know how to compartmentalise. She also realised she had been neglecting her own wellbeing. Outside work, she and her retired husband are making more time for travel. They recently took a bucket-list trip down the Nile aboard a century-old steamship. Instead, it has allowed her to remain professionally engaged while making more room for travel, mentoring and the other things that matter to her.
(Also Read: Mumbai woman takes auto home alone at 2:30 am, says safety is ‘last thing’ she worries about ) At the time, she was chief HR officer at Harvard Business Publishing, a role she found deeply fulfilling. After considerable thought, she resigned in December 2024.
I brought work home psychologically, emotionally, and, to some degree, physically,” she said. For Cheng-Cimini, “rewirement” is not about giving up work completely.
