Jul 21, 2008
Leave your Work at Work!
I recently read a vacation article in USAWeekend about the importance of leaving work behind while on vacation. The article reports that nearly 25% of American workers check email and voice mail while on vacation. This is something John and I are intimately familiar with. Some of our management members are tempted to call the office and answer emails while they are supposed to be enjoying a vacation. Out of respect to their vacation time, we often try to intercept their calls and scold them for calling in. We feel confident in doing this because we believe we have built responsible teams who are quite capable of handling issues without them for a few days. We travel a lot, so we see the ugly results of checking email and voicemail while on vacation. Our kids definitely notice when we are preoccupied with work and it ruins the atmosphere that a family vacation is supposed to instill. They can feel ignored and unimportant if work infringes on “their” time. We don’t like this for our own kids or other’s.
So, what is the solution.
1. Set expectations. We have found that if we expect the business to function without us, it usually does.
2. Start by telling clients and co-workers you are away and designate an alternate contact person. When we do this we are amazed at how empowered our staff becomes to handle everything.
3. Ask your spouse and children to remind you to detach and disconnect from work.
4. If you have to check email/voicemail set a specific time and then resume your vacation. We find that the hour after the kids go to bed is a good time to check in without disturbing the flow of the vacation. But remember not to let issues bleed into other times.
We don’t always practice what we preach, but we try very hard. We have left work totally behind and it is very liberating and healthy. The CEO of the Stress Institute reminds readers that “taking time for vacations and leisure is not luxury. It is necessity. The chronic stress of work can lead to emotional and physical illness.”
We’ll be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this fall. I can assure you that John will be leaving the laptop and cell phone behind (if he wants to make it to our 16th anniversary that is.)
-Tina Dowd
