Out of Office vs Switching Off
In the increasingly connected world of work, boundaries between personal life and work are fading. Emails on work phones, WhatsApp team group chats on personal phones, and direct contact outside of the office via phone calls to business mobiles contribute to this blur. This is having an impact on the ability of employees, the self-employed and small business leaders/ owners to take time out and have proper rest whilst on annual leave.
This blog considers the challenges of feeling unable to take a proper break and switch off during a period of annual leave in the ever-connected world we live in. It will outline the impact this can have on individuals and promote the reasons everyone should be taking a regular rest from work with some proper downtime. Finally, it will provide top tips for employees, employers and self-employed/SME business owners to encourage them to take those well-deserved breaks from the workplace
Current stats and problems with people taking a proper holiday from work
Many of us know the drill – you have too much to do, and you need to finish for a period of annual leave. It’s busy and hectic. Work keeps coming, the family is packing around you, you finish work late, worry about what you haven’t finished and pack. The first items in the bag are the mobile and laptop. And a plan of what you are going to finish when you get to your destination. You then spend the week doing some work. Checking in on emails, forwarding messages, taking a few calls and then it’s time to head back. The night before you are back at work, you wade through emails trying to get ahead of yourself for the morning. Sound familiar?
Leavism is a new way to describe people booking annual leave just to catch up on work because of the demanding schedule and workload they may be experiencing. This is at the extreme end of the spectrum when it comes to not disconnecting from work during annual leave. One startling statistic from research, which coincided with the call for the government to introduce new legislation commonly known as “right to disconnect” laws, indicates that three-quarters of all workers receive work-related contact during their annual leave. This figure would likely be higher for self-employed and SME business owners who don’t feel they can switch off completely.
Contact while on annual leave
The problem is predominantly experienced via email, with 35% being contacted over this communication medium during annual leave. 29% were contacted over teams during their annual leave. With many people being in group chats with their teams, project teams or clients on their personal phone, the ability to just turn the phone off is limited. Individuals have also been contacted via other channels. For instance, 11% of respondents in this research were contacted via Facebook Messenger while on annual leave. An example of further blurring the lines between the professional and personal.
However, the problem is sometimes the human inability to disconnect and switch off or FOMO (fear of missing out). Many individuals express concerns about worrying about what’s going on at work during their absence and what they will come back to. All of which lead to experiencing work-related stress during annual leave. Switching off completely becomes challenging for them. This is specifically challenging for the self-employed, freelance consultants and SME business owners. All of whom would want to maintain the expected level of service for their clients. If a serious situation arises requiring a resolution with speed, they may need to log on during their time off to ensure their client receives the service expected.
Economic challenges
With the current squeeze businesses are experiencing related to the cost of materials, labour and running operations, many organisations have budget and headcount freezes in place to navigate the ongoing economic challenges. This may mean that some people are picking up the extra workload. SMEs and the self-employed may have to do more for less. This could result in them having to work harder which could include during times booked for annual leave. Even independent HR consultants with first-hand experience of burnout and a focus on wellbeing are struggling to juggle the demands the current economy is putting on workers.
The impact of not taking adequate annual leave from work
There are numerous consequences of not taking regular and proper breaks from work:
The immediate risk is to health and well-being. Initially, this could be minor such as fatigue, tiredness or increased stress due to not getting enough downtime. But in the longer term, this could result in severe burnout, depression and other psychological risks as well as physical illness. The Health and well-being at work report published by CIPD revealed that 67% of organisations surveyed had reported a form of “leavism” taking place. Amidst a sharp increase in stress-related absence within 76% of organisations, 90% of large organisations, reported elevated stress-related absence over recent years. It is believed there is a link between inadequate breaks and disconnecting from work and these associated risk areas.
Quality of output may decline, and individuals are constantly juggling time and tasks. Service to clients/customers may eventually start to fall below the required levels.
Individuals may lack good quality sleep. Starting early, finishing late, and a whirring mind when they go to bed at night. These all contribute to individuals being less able to cope during the working day and harder to switch off during annual leave.
Lack of concentration due to stress or burnout increases the risk of making errors, mistakes or having accidents.
A constant feeling of overwhelm by the to-do list can result in non-urgent things being completed during annual leave. Individuals will therefore miss out on downtime and family/me time.
It creates a dislike for your job and sets a certain level of expectation. Boundaries are needed – if you always respond to a client/manager even when you are on annual leave, they know you are watching and will send messages in the hope you will respond.
In the worst cases, people are experiencing prolonged periods of burnout. This could result in a trip to the hospital, and a bout of sickness absence from the business. This is something that self-employed, and insecure workers can’t sustain and could result in the problem getting worse.
Disconnect and take a break from work
The roadrunner effect can mean it takes people a while to switch off from work when they go on holiday. Research has shown the average time is 46 hours and 42 minutes, nearly the whole first weekend. When we are living our lives at a million miles an hour it can take our minds a little while to catch up with the relaxation our bodies are experiencing. Simply telling our minds to switch off and destress is not always simple. If it’s your own business then the worry of not keeping on top of your business and its operations takes precedence.
Below are some top tips for taking a work-free period of annual leave -
Out-of-office message
Put a voicemail out-of-office on your mobile. Include instructions such as “contact a different person” or “send me an email and I will respond on my return.”
Set that out-of-office to let people know when you will be contactable again. State that you currently have no access to emails, phone calls or messages. A good psychological trick is to pretend you’ve gone to the North Pole – there is no signal!
Switch off technology
If you have a work mobile and laptop, turn them off. Put them away in a drawer in a room you would not normally go into. This way the temptation will not be there – out of sight out of mind.
If you are part of a group chat for work on WhatsApp, remove yourself from the group. You can be reinstated once you return from annual leave. Or at the very least archive chats or switch off notifications so you do not get notifications from groups or people work-related.
Leave the tech at home if possible or at least in the hotel to avoid unwanted distractions.
Plan in advance
Plan where possible and notify key stakeholders of your annual leave. They can then bring forward key work and avoid last-minute surprises.
Perhaps book the last day in the office as a wrapping-up day without lots of booked meetings to enable you to finish up and hand over. Keep your diary free on the first day back after a period of annual leave. Use this to catch up on emails and work out the priorities.
See if you can brief someone else about ongoing work/projects so they can deputise for you or deal with things in your absence.
Switching off
Be strict with yourself, it is not always easy but setting boundaries and sticking to them is essential.
Try something new and fun. Holidays are about letting go of stress, making memories, enjoying good food and drink, educating yourself on local cultures and traditions, having family time, rest and relaxation. This will help keep our minds off the work emails and messages as our brains will be stimulated and focused on the novel, and not that scary work deadline!
Do some soul-searching and try to understand why you may not be able to switch off. Perhaps try some mindfulness techniques or guided meditation.
If it comes to it, book a silent retreat where phones and laptops are banned. You will have no choice in the matter!
If you really feel you must keep an eye on things, set times to check-in. Look and then close it down until the next time slot. Don’t keep checking back all the time for new messages.
Sources:
The rise of leavism: Do you also use holidays to catch up on work? | The Independent
Three-quarters of employees are contacted by work when on holiday – HR News
Are you able to switch off when on holiday? – BBC News
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