Kevin Eikenberry published a blog post called “Secrets to a Real Vacation.” In it, he offers several great questions to consider when taking time away.
He also addresses the issue of how connected you can be and still have a vacation.
Can you check email once a day and still feel refreshed when you return? Can you “stay closely connected” and take a vacation at the same time?
We asked this question, also, on our Facebook fan page, with some interesting responses. Out of 75 responders, about 10% responded with an enthusiastic “Heck, no.” By far, the greatest percentage of responders (36%) “stay closely connected” while on vacation. About 31% check email once a day. 12% asked “What’s a vacation?”
Mike Driehorst shared “Closely connected as in periodically checking, but only responding if urgent. Life, ultimately, is more important than work.”
A couple of responders indicated that even though they currently choose to check email while on vacation, they are not proud of doing so and are working to change their practices.
In many ways, people respond to and follow the examples of their leaders. If you check work email while on vacation, do you do so because your supervisor expects you to? If you are a supervisor, do you expect your reports to check in via email while on vacation? Is staying connected a requirement of the job? Or are people in your organization free to decide for themselves how connected they want to be (or not.)
Be sure to check out Kevin’s post. He has some great words of encouragement to leaders to set a clear example and to encourage people to find times of true refreshment and renewal.
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