Burnout and Balance: Take your vacation days (without the guilt)
Have you ever worked at a job where it’s frowned upon to take time off? How about those offices where people feel so overloaded they just can’t pull away even for one day let alone one week? I think it’s fair to say I am grateful for having challenging work and collaborating with amazing, talented colleagues. But I am my best at work when I can disconnect and recharge. How do you make your team and office a place where people are valued as whole people with lives outside of the office? It matters. If people in your office work non-stop and don’t take any time off, that is a symptom of a potentially damaging work culture. And a bad work culture stifles innovation, contributes to low employee engagement and high turnover which impacts revenue and growth... I could go on, but you get the picture.
Nurturing the right culture on your team. As a part of a team, start by observing and asking these questions.
Is it clear and easy for people to communicate their requests for time off and then share their whereabouts?
Do people actually take their vacation?
Do men—including senior executives— take parental leave?
Do women come back after maternity leave?
If an employee has to care for a sick child or parent intermittently, are we still considering the person as high potential and open for projects, stretch roles and other opportunities?
Do you have clear back-up and file sharing practices in place?
Do teams openly discuss back-up / succession plans for coverage?
If you answer no to any of these questions it’s time to start a check-list, engage in conversations, build up some systems, and hold people accountable for creating a safe environment for people to step away. (And if you’d like to dig into this drop me a line and let’s talk further and work on another blog post.) While we want dedicated, passionate people, we should be concerned if people make comments about someone taking parental leave or not being “a team player” when they take that family trip and don’t call in for a meeting.
Employee level: setting up your time off so you can be guilt-free. One thing I pride myself on is covering for people when they are out of office on vacation, parental leave, or whatever reason they have so they don’t have to worry about a thing while away. I don’t want you to work through your vacation if it can be avoided. I want to create an environment where the team is there for each other. Where you are valued as a complete person who has a life outside of work. Where it’s clear what’s expected of you and we make it easy for you to do your best work. But that means as an individual, you should think about making it easy for people. You want to make yourself replaceable. I wrote a post on this last year which you should check out. (Okay, I know this sounds nuts, but you are allowed to go away, and even get new fun projects when you’re back.) Here’s what I do to make it easy to be away.
Almost from the start, find a colleague and ask to be back up buddies. They cover for you, you cover for them. In some cases it’s my boss or even direct report. In others it’s a peer. Then coordinate schedules. Try not to be out too long if they are out too. Also, make sure you keep that person in the loop on major things so they feel comfortable covering.Ask, don’t tell. Be clear with your boss and team what they expect. Do they just want an FYI on vacation, or should you send in a request? My personal view is it never hurts to communicate more. And this is majorly true if you want to take more than 2 weeks off. Seriously, have lots of consideration if you can, and work with your boss on how that coverage will work BEFORE you take it.
Be transparent and proactive about letting people know your whereabouts. I have tricks with outlook which work for me, but do whatever works for your team that makes it clear in advance and on the days you’re out.
Make it easy for someone to cover. Have a clear transition/handoff discussion before you go. Give them the stakeholder list. Access to documents/sites they need. Give them clear instructions on decision criteria (approve things if they have these things done…)
Don’t overload the person covering. Give them small, easy things to do. Give them clear ways to reach you or whoever with questions. I generally schedule deliverables around my vacation. I also take 1 full week plus a day or two maybe, so then whatever I missed can either be covered or wait until I return. One boss used to text me while I was out “everything’s great here! Plus you’re back next week so no big deal.”
Don’t pretend you’re working remotely when you really are on vacation. Listen, even if it’s totally your intention to work from the sailboat… if you don’t have child care, and you’d rather be scuba diving (and resent the non-stop calls) you’re not doing yourself or your team any favors. Call it a vacation and enjoy.
Be clear when you take time off what is happening, and how you’ll deliver. My family has breaks throughout the year and I enjoy vacationing with them. But if I have a major program hitting, I have factor that in. Maybe wait until AFTER the program? Just saying.
Ok. That’s it for now. Would love to hear about your own offices and how taking vacation / time off “feels” and what tips you have to take a break and recharge! Cheers everyone.
