Take your Vacation!

Businesses are designed to take as much as you will give them, and then to ask for more. It is up to you to set and then manage those boundaries. 

Here are a few quick tips in case you don’t think you can take a vacation. 

• Don’t save it all up for the end of the year. You never know when a crisis is going to demand you engage

• Don’t assume you have to take a week at a time. Try a 4 day weekend

• Don’t be afraid to take a day in the middle of the week. Wednesdays are great days to do nothing

• Don’t think you have to go somewhere to take a vacation. There are mental health benefits from a day off at home too.

As a leader, you need to not only set the example but also the expectation. “Take your vacation.” These simple words may be just what your team needs to hear, especially when the messages they get from the company (and maybe you as a leader) are likely telling them the exact opposite. A few quick tips on how to help your team take a vacation:

• Talk openly about your time off and encourage others to do the same

• Be careful not to brag about how much work you got done while you were gone as it sets the expectation that teammates are not allowed to disconnect

• Publicly celebrate when your teammates take vacations and ask others to leave them alone during that period of time

• Don’t punish teammates who choose to work some while they are on their vacation. For many, myself included, checking in throughout their vacation can actually help them rest more because they are not worried about what they are missing or the pile that will be there when they get back.

After one year of pandemic life, we owe it to each other to take a breath and reset. Who’s with me?