Four Tips for Working Less During Vacation

I recently read a blog post by virtual PBX provider Nextiva that shocked me.

I should not have been shocked, but it did surprise me when I learned in the post that every country in the European Union mandates at least a month of paid vacation per year. For those that don’t follow the EU that closely, this means at least 18 relatively developed countries (including Estonia and Slovenia) have workers that get substantially more time off than I do.

Work is ever-present for me, as it is for most Americans. We’re a nation of workers, which I’d like to think accounts for our material success. But I’m not so sure that’s the case, because there’s a lot to be said for rest and creative downtime.

Even if I am a believer in vacation, though, it still is hard to take vacation. That’s because as a small business owner, it is hard to walk away from the business for a few days without this niggling fear that things will fall apart. My return from vacation is painful, of course, with its email inbox full of literally thousands of new messages that accrued while I was away. But more importantly, I don’t take vacation because the business world moves too fast and I don’t want to cripple my business during that vacation period.

Nextiva suggests that this might highlight a weakness in my business, though, since a business that falls apart when its founder is away is probably not so strong and durable. Point well taken, Nextiva.

Maybe my business is not that strong—or perhaps I just worry too much. Perhaps both.

For those of us who may want to take vacation but live outside of the EU, another approach is working while we are on vacation. That’s frankly what I do.

But working when I am off is not really vacation, and it circumvents some of the reasons for the vacation.

Nextiva suggests that if workers like myself must work while on vacation, we should at least be smart about it. The company lists out four recommendations to work wisely while on vacation.

These suggestions include setting an out-of-office message and letting all non-essential email sit for later resolution or to be handled by those who are still working, and limiting ourselves to a single hour of work at the start of each “vacation” day.

If we’re going to work from vacation, Nextiva also recommends leaving explicit instructions with staff not to contact us unless the matters to be handled immediately are irreversible, and to avoid going on vacation during any major deadlines since that undoubtedly will lead to a fair amount of work while on vacation.

Again, well said Nextiva. Now I just have to follow this advice—which might be the hardest part for a small business owner such as myself.

Edited by Alisen Downey