Taking a real vacation and being disconnected from work is critical to your mental and physical health. Really. It is. I think we all know this and I wrote about it a few weeks ago when I blogged “You’re not as important as you think you are. Disconnected downtime is crucial.” http://www.sqlmag.com/blog/leap-think-54/sql-server/youre-important-vacation-downtime-crucial-143778
Is staying disconnected easier said than done?
It’s hard to have a relaxed disconnected vacation when your boss demands otherwise. And yes, staying disconnected is hard when the culture of the company revolves around exceptions that you will be at least checking email if not spending hours a day doing real work.
Fortunately, business culture might be changing.
I was intrigued to read research from Robert Half which is one of the biggest recruiting and placement companies in the world for financial and accounting professions. A recent survey asked more than 1400 Chief Financial Officers the following question:
"During your summer vacation, how often do you typically check in with the office?"
51% said they do not check in. I was pretty surprised. Interestingly the number has almost doubled in just 2 years. Only 26% said they don’t check in when the same survey was conducted in 2010 and the number was as low as 21% in 2005. Here are the answers to the question in grid format from 2005, 2010, and 2012:
|
2012 |
2010 |
2005 |
|
|
Several times daily |
8% |
18% |
13% |
|
Once or twice daily |
11% |
15% |
21% |
|
Several times a week |
27% |
12% |
14% |
|
Once or twice a week |
2% |
24% |
26% |
|
Do not check in |
51% |
26% |
21% |
|
Don't know/no answer |
1% |
5% |
5% |
|
Total |
100% |
100% |
100% |
I have to imagine that the percentage of worker bees who work for these execs who are able to ‘not check in’ on vacation has risen as well. Read the full article. It’s short and has some good tips. http://rhmr.mediaroom.com/checkoutvacation
What about your boss or company? What happens when you try to be disconnected for an entire week?
Congratulations if you work for a company that lets you disconnect while on vacation. I’d like to ask the folks who don’t work for such a company a tough question. What is holding you back from looking for a new job?