Having recently returned to work, I am reminded what it means to take time off. Ironically, I started writing this a couple of weeks ago as I was getting ready to go out of town. Almost three weeks later, I’ll try and finish it. The fact that it’s taken me much longer to finish due to time off helps emphasize my point.
So what does it mean to take time off for us and our employees? I was only gone for a week, but I started preparing at work at least a couple of weeks prior. Now that I’m back, it’s taken me a full week to get back to a point where I’m almost caught up. Of course, I did work while I was gone, too.
I know I’m by no means alone in this; I know many people who pay a similar price. What are your expectations for time off for yourself and your staff? We need to seriously think about what we need to do that allows us and our staff to really take time off.
With the emphasis on mental health and burnout, it’s not surprising that people who can’t turn it off easily bear the cost. So what can we do about it?
Start talking with your staff now. For anyone planning to be off, ask them what you can do to help. See if there’s a project or anything else that can be put aside until later. Even better, see if you can bring in someone else to help so the work doesn’t just get postponed.
Talk with your team about helping each other out. If you each pick up some of the slack for anyone going on vacation, you can minimize the extras people feel before they go and when they return. Think about how nice it would be to take time off and not worry about what waits when you return? If we're strategic about this, it can help.
Do the same for yourself. Find someone who’s willing to help out for you and you help them out. Not only does it make your time off go a little smoother, it provides some cross training for you and your staff.
Let’s get to a point where time off really does mean time off. For ourselves, for our staff and for all of our mental health.
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