TAKING
a summer holiday can be one of the most stressful times of the year. Instead
of kicking off their shoes and relaxing on a sunny beach, many employees spend
their time off worrying about work. TAKING
a summer holiday can be one of the most stressful times of the year. Instead
of kicking off their shoes and relaxing on a sunny beach, many employees spend
their time off worrying about work.
Linda Whittern, director of Career Partnerships (UK) and the careers advisor for employment today, spoke to The Guardian newspaper about the best ways to beat the stress.
Plagued with images of overflowing in-trays, important meetings that they have missed and ambitious colleagues using one’s absence to gain favour with the boss, more and more people are finding the summer holiday one of the most stressful times of the year.
On top of that comes the fact that after so many years of ‘downsizing’, ‘cost cutting’ and ‘increasing efficiency’, not many people are able to pass the workload on to colleagues. Instead, they have to ‘earn’ their annual leave by working extra long hours in the weeks before and after the holiday.
Small wonder then that stress is a rising problem in the workplace. One out of three men and one out of six women in full-time employment do not go on holidays because they believe they are too busy. Of those that do, many leave behind their mobile numbers, or take some of their work with them on holiday – both of which defeat the idea of a holiday, namely to relax and take a break from the daily grind.
Still, with the proper planning, it is possible to avoid most of these pitfalls,
says Whittern. She suggests making a list well in advance of all the things
that need to be done, and drop or delegate all non-urgent work. "Try to
give yourself an easy week before and after your break. Don’t re-schedule anything
for after the holiday unless you really have to. And importantly, agree your
plan with your boss and colleagues, so they know what you will and will not
do, and what they might have to look after while you’re away."
A beach holiday is fine – but not with the laptop