Harris Interactive conducted a study with employees at various
businesses and found some interesting results regarding vacations. 44%
of employees dread the craziness of preparing for vacation at work the
day before they leave. Additionally, 77% of employees believe the day
they return from vacation is worse. How can you avoid the work related
stress when it comes to a vacation? Here are a few tips to have a worry
free vacation.
Before You Leave- To-Do
List: Before leaving for vacation, create a list of what you need to do
when you get back home. Take a look at your schedule and see what
projects, deadlines, meetings, and other events you'll have. Know what
you have to do when you get back so you have no surprises.
- Vacation
Alert: Create an automatic vacation response for your email address.
This allows customers, employees, and clients who email you to know you
are out of town, and when you will be returning. This way, no one will
be expecting your usual prompt response or action.
- Prepare
Employees: Discuss expectations with employees. Make sure they have
understanding on how to run the business without you there. Review any
tasks before you leave, and if necessary, write out a how-to on certain
tasks. Also, have an employee brief you on what you missed while you
were gone in an email, and have them send it to you the day before you
return. That way, you can find out upon your arrival to the office what
you missed while you were gone.
On Vacation- Don't
Stay Connected: Try to not check your email or phone frequently if you
are worried about your business. If you must, limit checking your email
or phone to once a day, preferably in the afternoon.
- You're Not
On the Clock: Limit business work to less than an hour each day, if you
even have to do business-related work at all. Spend the time on
vacation enjoying your time to yourself, your hard work, and life.
- Relax!
It's a vacation. Don't worry too much about your business. Enjoy your
time away. This is the time to enjoy, relax, and recharge.
When You Return- Before
The Office: When you get home from vacation, try to check your work
email before going into work. Read the status update from employees
regarding the business while you were on vacation (Prep Employees under
Before You Leave). Read the urgent emails first, such as important
clients, employees, or others and handle those quickly. Organize the
rest by how urgent the email is, what it entails, and how soon you must
respond.
- Welcome Back: Try to arrive at the office early to
avoid distractions from customers, employees, or just other work in
general. Spend a short amount of time talking about your trip with
employees, but then get back to work. Take care of the mail, shipments,
finances, or anything else you may have missed while gone to catch up
and get back to the regular work schedule.
- Keep the Memories
Alive: Miss the vacation feeling? Reminisce in a subtle way. Put a
picture on your desk to remind you of your vacation. If you have a
computer, make it your background.
When taking a vacation
from regular life and work, these tips are some pretty healthy
guidelines, and not just for the business owner. They'll work just as
well for anyone who takes afew days off for a vacation. Next time you
have a vacation and are worried about work, reference these tips, put
them to use, and have fun!
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to our free newsletter to receive future articles and information delivered directly to your email inbox.
