Leave is leave
Thanks to the 24/7 connectivity of modern work life, it can feel like taking leave and being on leave are two different things.
They shouldn’t be.
Managers and employees alike can get drawn into work activities while on leave – which means we can potentially be our own and others’ worst enemies.
I write as a recent – though unintentional – leave saboteur. I’m guilty of forgetting who of my colleagues is on leave and think ‘Oh, X won’t mind if I reach out to them – they will want to help out wherever they can.’ While that may be true of X, it is presumptuous of me, the unwitting leave thief, to steal their precious leave time.
I also know, from first-hand experience, that work can be a welcome distraction from life stresses – but it is important to recognise (or have someone recognise for you) that there is a limit to one’s professional bandwidth. The hour before surgery is not the time to check your emails.
There are different roles, different personalities, and different types of leave - but leave is leave.
And at this time of the year, annual leave is top of mind for many of us. So, what can we do to ensure leave is leave? In my latest article for NZ Management Magazine, I offer some tips that I, too, strive to follow.
Most importantly: give yourself and others the opportunity to take the leave we’ve all earned and make time and space to recharge. Next year will roll round soon enough.
Read the article in NZ Management Magazine: Leave is leave