No work, no worry

Summer has just begun and that long-awaited vacation is on the horizon. Unfortunately, it can quickly pass you by and before you know it, that precious vacation time has been wasted due to inadequate trip planning or a basic inability to relax.

Twenty-three per cent of Americans take no vacation time at all, according to a report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research. With employees skipping out on vacation days every year, the bigger question remains as to why this continues to happen, and what happens when employees actually take that time off? More importantly, how can an individual enjoy a vacation without being completely disconnected from work?

First off, it’s important to understand the value of taking time off work. “A well-placed vacation can help break the cycle of everyday workplace-related stress,” says Dr Joffrey Suprina, dean of the College of Behavioral Sciences at Argosy University. “Chronic stress takes a toll on our body’s health, disrupting its ability to resist infection, maintain vital functions and even avoid injury. When you’re stressed out and tired, you are more likely to become ill. Your sleep will suffer and not only do you become more irritable, depressed, and anxious, but your memory will become worse and you’ll make poor decisions. So, vacations are important to our overall physical and mental health.”

A new survey from Glassdoor found that 61 per cent of employees admitted to doing some work while on vacation. In a connected world of smartphones, iPads and Wi-Fi, that might not seem like a big deal. It’s easy to work remotely. However, many people aren’t getting the most of their vacation. Checking an email can easily lead to jumping on a project, which has potential to take up hours of your valuable vacation time.

“Taking time off has a positive effect on employee happiness and producti-vity. However, many people are simply afraid to walk away from their work even for a few days,” says Dr Carlos Tasso E De Aquino, assistant dean of the Graduate School of Business and Management at Argosy University. “With globalisation and increasing competition, the workforce feels threatened to lose their jobs to people anywhere in the world, so they develop this ‘addiction’ and never stop working,” he adds.

So before you leave the office for vacation, assign a person to help others regarding your normal responsibilities and let everybody clearly know who this person is — including them in an automatic email reply and voice mail.

“Consider a time blocking strategy, where you choose a small block of time to catch up on work. Let your co-workers know that this is the only time you’ll be responding to emails, calls and other work needs. By doing this, you’ll be in control of your responsibilities, setting employee expectations, and all-eviating some of the stress that comes from having to constantly check in,” says Suprina.

Another good idea is to train your stand-in co-worker well in advance. Consider having your employees partner up with somebody who understands their job. When their counterpart goes on vacation, only they can contact each other if something comes up. This means that all the attempts to access the vacationing employee have to go through their ‘gatekeeper’, who can judge just how important it actually is to contact that employee.

Vacations give you a chance to truly unwind, enjoy life, and to keep your work-life balance from swinging too far toward work. They allow you to take a step back from your normal, stressful routine and enjoy a bit of rest and relaxation. So go ahead this summer and take a few days off. Just don’t forget to bring a camera.