Holiday season has finally arrived and no matter what our working title may be we all seem to be faced with a similar issue; work interruptions both out of hours as well as on holiday. It seems as though the typical 9am – 5.30pm working day seems to be a thing of the past and customers and client’s now feel that they can email you no matter what time of day it is whether it is 11pm at night or 11am on a Saturday morning. Even though you have told them that you are going on holiday they still feel as though they can get in touch with you whether it be as an email or a phone call to ask you questions rather than think to ask someone else who is more than capable of answering and available in the office to talk to. Of course you feel you need to answer back to be polite and keep the customer or the client happy, but what we need to work on is how to be able to switch off from work and enjoy a holiday for once.
Work – Life Balance
We work hard for the holiday we have, and it is good for you to have a break from work and relax in the summer sun. But what we are facing in this technical world is that the first thing we wake up to are numerous unread emails on our phones from client’s coming to you instead of someone else. It has been said that France are considering making it illegal to send emails outside of your working hours or whilst away on holiday, so it may be about time that we all do the same thing giving us more of a work – life balance, separating the two lives from one another.
Work can have an emotional affect on you and interrupt your personal life and interfere with relationships. If you are on holiday with your partner or family and are battling with constant emails and phone calls then of course it is going to get in the way and cause friction with between yourself and loved ones. It can also be difficult having to switch from dealing with client’s to then going back to spending valuable time with family and playing in the pool. If someone is dedicated to their job then they are going to feel guilty and feel the need to reply to emails, but on the other hand they will also feel guilty about using up special holiday time by answering emails or passing these emails onto someone else to answer.
How to Escape Work and Enjoy a Holiday
So how do we escape work and actually enjoy a holiday? Well the simple answer is to completely switch off from work and don’t think about checking your emails until you are back to work and sitting at your desk. Enjoy your time off whether you stay at home or go abroad and enjoy not having to set the alarm each morning. Enjoy the valuable time you are spending with friends, family or a partner. This is a time that you can relax and enjoy each other’s company instead of having to worry about work.
Debbie Burbage Suggests…
- Inform your client’s in advance of the dates that you will be on holiday.
- Set an automated email to say when you will be able to reply.
- Forward your emails to a colleague who will be able to answer any queries.
- Turn off your work emails on your phone.
- Take note of anyone who has tried to get in touch via a phone call or a text message and reply to them once you are back at work.
- Enjoy your holiday!
Holiday season has finally arrived and no matter what our working title may be we all seem to be faced with a similar issue; work interruptions both out of hours as well as on holiday. It seems as though the typical 9am – 5.30pm working day seems to be a thing of the past and customers and client’s now feel that they can email you no matter what time of day it is whether it is 11pm at night or 11am on a Saturday morning. Even though you have told them that you are going on holiday they still feel as though they can get in touch with you whether it be as an email or a phone call to ask you questions rather than think to ask someone else who is more than capable of answering and available in the office to talk to. Of course you feel you need to answer back to be polite and keep the customer or the client happy, but what we need to work on is how to be able to switch off from work and enjoy a holiday for once.
Work – Life Balance
We work hard for the holiday we have, and it is good for you to have a break from work and relax in the summer sun. But what we are facing in this technical world is that the first thing we wake up to are numerous unread emails on our phones from client’s coming to you instead of someone else. It has been said that France are considering making it illegal to send emails outside of your working hours or whilst away on holiday, so it may be about time that we all do the same thing giving us more of a work – life balance, separating the two lives from one another.
Work can have an emotional affect on you and interrupt your personal life and interfere with relationships. If you are on holiday with your partner or family and are battling with constant emails and phone calls then of course it is going to get in the way and cause friction with between yourself and loved ones. It can also be difficult having to switch from dealing with client’s to then going back to spending valuable time with family and playing in the pool. If someone is dedicated to their job then they are going to feel guilty and feel the need to reply to emails, but on the other hand they will also feel guilty about using up special holiday time by answering emails or passing these emails onto someone else to answer.
How to Escape Work and Enjoy a Holiday
So how do we escape work and actually enjoy a holiday? Well the simple answer is to completely switch off from work and don’t think about checking your emails until you are back to work and sitting at your desk. Enjoy your time off whether you stay at home or go abroad and enjoy not having to set the alarm each morning. Enjoy the valuable time you are spending with friends, family or a partner. This is a time that you can relax and enjoy each other’s company instead of having to worry about work.
Debbie Burbage Suggests…
- Inform your client’s in advance of the dates that you will be on holiday.
- Set an automated email to say when you will be able to reply.
- Forward your emails to a colleague who will be able to answer any queries.
- Turn off your work emails on your phone.
- Take note of anyone who has tried to get in touch via a phone call or a text message and reply to them once you are back at work.
- Enjoy your holiday!