So, when did you last take a real holiday?
Two-thirds of Aussies don’t take their full annual leave entitlement. (Emma Bemrose/Private Media)
Twenty-nine days ago, with the full support of my team, I put on an ‘out of office’ message that asked people to contact my partners rather than wait for my return; added a ‘forwarding’ system, and I went on holiday without my laptop. It wasn’t easy.
With bags packed, I spent my last half hour before leaving for the airport wrestling with my conscience, feeling pre-emptive guilt for the work I would not be doing, and I took to our Teams chat to make sure it was really ok, “what if…”, should I take it ‘just in case’?
Feeling a bit naked without my laptop strapped to my back, but slightly reassured that my phone would keep me up to date, I took the plunge and committed to taking the full break I’d promised — for myself, and as an example to the rest of the team: On holidays, we switch off.
So what was driving this reluctance to switch off and take a real holiday? If I’m honest I think it’s a combination of guilt and insecurity — guilt that my team might have to pick up some extra load or cover something for me; insecurity that I need to be contributing all of the time to be a valued member of the team, and heaven forbid, but what if everything runs better in my absence?
As far as the guilt side goes, we’d planned for all of that — and the insecurities — well, those are mine to manage. Of course, the business ran well in my absence — it’s designed to support every one of us taking our full leave.
I lasted less than a week before checking emails though — and it was great to see that the ‘out of office’ message was working, and for every email, there was a corresponding email to reassure me it had been covered.
Then, like a balloon losing its air, I relaxed and that surface tension disappeared. No notifications, no emails, no Teams chats, no tasks, obligations, deadlines, follow-ups… nothing, just leisure. I think some readers might find this hard to get their heads around, I did, but it was great. It was also important.
While I know anecdotally that taking holidays is good for you – and for your employer — it turns out that in a survey of 10,000 Australian workers, 66% of Australians don’t take their full annual leave entitlement, 20% don’t take two weeks, 6% don’t even take a week, and 9% have not taken a holiday in two years.
We all know these people, and we know that not taking leave can impact our mental and physical health. In the same research, more than 65% felt guilty when requesting leave, and 39% said that they felt they didn’t deserve a holiday.
That’s not a great mental state to be in, and I’m sure that sometimes we’ve all felt that we can’t take a break during an endlessly busy period with multiple and emerging deadlines — but our businesses are supposed to be designed to enable this, and we shouldn’t feel guilty. I think we should be encouraged.
Once I’d fully switched off, I spent those weeks fully immersed in different lives and neighbourhoods, with family and friends in the US, UK and Canada. Their everyday lives became novel for me — I became interested in small differences as well as shocked at the mundane similarities. Yes, there were adventures (and I have the pics to prove it) but overall this was a low-key trip, that confirmed two things for me:
Firstly, taking a real holiday is important. One where your brain shifts gears, whether that’s up a gear to cycle around Italy and eat gelatos in six different capitals; or if like me it’s shifting down several gears to spend quality time with people I care about.
The holiday also doesn’t need to be an overseas trip or an expensive exercise. My family is spread across the world, so that’s usually where I go, but a few weeks camping a few hours from home can cost next to nothing and offer that complete refreshing break that allows a refresh and reset — although affordability did not surface as a key driver for people not taking leave.
Second, it resets your perspective — on your work, priorities, social and political concerns: a global perspective can be helpful, in reassuring us that our issues are not unique, or in reminding us of just how good we really have it where we are.
So if you’re a manager, maybe check your team’s leave balances and give them permission and encouragement to take that time out that they probably really need. Your work practices need to support this, and if they can’t right now, plan a way forward so that in six months, they can. That makes sense for business continuity anyway.
And if you’re a manager, my guess is that you are more guilty than others of not taking your leave — so give yourself some permission and encouragement to do the same.
I’m spending the first two days back in Australia working from home, and with a clear COVID-19 test tomorrow I’ll head back into the office.
I actually can’t wait. That’s the sign of a good holiday.
