After 30 Years in HR, a Senior Executive Swaps Full‑Time for a 3‑Day Week and Calls It “Rewirement”

When Angela Cheng‑Cimini turned 56, she looked around the kitchen table, sipped her tea, and realized something was off. Over the past few years three close friends—people her own age—had succumbed to pancreatic cancer. Their loss made her pause, ask the tough questions, and wonder if she was still on the right track.

Angela had spent three whole decades climbing the HR ladder, most recently as chief HR officer at Harvard Business Publishing. She loved the work, sure, but the job had a way of spilling over into evenings, weekends and even the occasional Sunday brunch. “I didn’t know how to compartmentalise,” she confessed. “Work followed me home—psychologically, emotionally, sometimes even physically.”

After a lot of sleepless nights and long conversations with her husband Michael, she decided to quit her full‑time role in December 2024. It wasn’t a classic early retirement; she didn’t want to walk away from a career that had defined her for so long. Instead, she searched for a position that would give her the freedom she now craved.

That search led to a part‑time chief HR officer gig at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which she started in January 2025. The arrangement is simple: three days a week, same benefits—health insurance, 401(k) match, paid time off—and a lighter load that lets her close her laptop on a Wednesday afternoon without a pang of guilt.

The shift has opened doors she never imagined. With two extra days, Angela mentors young professionals who reach out on LinkedIn, offers unpaid advisory work to a handful of HR start‑ups, and finally squeezes in that bucket‑list Nile cruise on a century‑old steamship with Michael. “I feel I’m paying it forward now,” she says, recalling how few female Asian leaders were visible when she started out.

Angela calls this middle ground “rewirement.” It’s not retirement, not a complete exit from the workforce, but a re‑imagining of what work can look like after a long career. She plans to stay in her part‑time role as long as the organization values her experience, while also savoring the freedom to explore travel, mentorship, and the simple pleasure of shutting down her laptop on a Wednesday.