On Vacation, Sort of
I recently read that Careerbuilder.com found in its annual survey that 20 percent of the 7,000 respondents plan to be in contact with their place of employment during their vacation.
Now while this is down from last year’s high of 27 percent, it still seems ridiculous to me that so many people feel it absolutely necessary to keep in touch even though they are on vacation.
This reminds me of a story that a friend told me about a vacation she once spent with several other couples at an annual Fourth of July baseball tournament. While men were busy playing their hearts out in order to lay claim to the winner’s trophy, one wife was too busy on her cell phone checking in with everyone at her office to notice some of the spectacular plays her husband made. Later as everyone was busy recounting the action, this too-busy wife had nothing to say.
The point is that BREAK most company’s vacation policies talk about how important time away from work really is. And that’s why they offer employees vacation: to provide employees with paid time off for rest and renewal.
So what is it about some people that they just can’t let go?
Are they so absolutely indispensable that their organizations cannot live without them? Or is it that their egos won’t let them believe otherwise?
While some seem to think it would reflect poorly on them showing that perhaps they weren’t needed if they didn’t check in, the truth is that the opposite may be true. If you effectively prepare in advance, it may just show you are organized and have management potential.
So next time you plan a vacation be sure to plan in advance how things will operate while you’re away and then trust your staff or coworkers to function fine without you. That way you can truly enjoy your vacation, not just sort of.
Explore posts in the same categories: Recruiting, Employee Relations, Benefits
