What’s Your Vacation Policy?
Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 by Frank Roche
I’m on “vacation” this week, which means I’m staying in house by the shore and doing work rather than being in my office and doing work. (Well, not quite. I went into the office yesterday for a few hours to participate in a conference call and pick up my rebuilt computer. Then I drove back down to the shore.) That’s the reality of a small business owner, and I knew that when I signed up for that gig five years ago that there wouldn’t ever be a day off from work or worry. That’s my story.
But what about your employees? Did they sign on for 24/7/365?
I like it when employees are invested in the business. But my sense is that people need downtime. (Speaking from experience, btw.) They need time to be away from Blackberries and computers and works worries. How does that work in your shop? When people are away on “vacation,” are they really away? Is there a way that you can make it so that when they go on vacation that they really go to their happy place rather than going to work, only in a place that uses different currency?
I know this is a tough balancing act. Some companies, and some managers, are able to let their people go. They let people be on vacation. Others are always living on the edge and think those little fires are world enders. My sense is that those people never get any rest.
I don’t have a solution for this one. I’m just hoping that if I come back in another lifetime that I come back as a Frenchman. The 35-hour workweek and 6 weeks off in the summer with no worries about work sound pretty good.
Ron Ulrici
Jul 30th, 2008
Frank,
I’m glad you are an American entrepreneur. We business people work hard and get rewarded for it. I’ve been a work-alcholic all my life because my work has been my hobby. For us, long vacations are not a reward.
When I was a partner in a real estate company, I must admit that when our employees went on vacation, we survived just fine. Other employees would step up to the plate when their co-workers were out.
Joe Hungler
Jul 30th, 2008
Frank,
I work for a non-profit. My vacation time has always been spent like yours as we never have enough people and there is always more needs to address. This has always been my choice, not something my boss suggested. This year I committed to using all my vacation time (23 days) while in the past I have rarely used even 2 weeks. Some I just use for a long weekend here and there, but this May I took my first break from the office of more than a week. It made a big difference in my work when I returned as I was rejuvenated. As a fellow work hobbyist, I do agree with Ron above that long vacations sitting around a pool aren’t a reward. I stayed busy on my vacation visiting family, umpiring their little league games and catching up on reading. It was great. And when I returned, not one of our Clubhouses had fallen apart
.
Frank Roche
Jul 31st, 2008
Ron and Joe, sounds like we live parallel lives. It’s a life we choose and I like it. I like being in the action. And I also believe in what Joe said about being rejuvenated after some time off. It certainly doesn’t mean doing nothing for a week…I’m just not a sit around the pool guy either. Maybe this post shouldn’t have been so much about vacation time as about time to renew..freshen up…and charge the batteries for another run.
BTW: I’m writing this from the sunny deck of our vacation house. It’s a gorgeous morning and I can see the sun glinting off the Atlantic Ocean. Not bad.
rick
Aug 1st, 2008
I was just at a client where the CEO bragged that he just celebrated the 5th anniversary of his last vacation. What do you think that company’s vacation policy is like?
Bill
Aug 3rd, 2008
You always do what you love. The key is to learn to love what you need.
Peach Flambe
Aug 7th, 2008
The need to renew is a fundamental part of how humans are designed. At my prior company, we hired The Energy Project (www.theenergyproject.com) to work with the senior HR leadership team on this very concept. It changed lives. You should check it out.
Frank Roche
Aug 8th, 2008
Bill, great line…I hear the music.
Peach, that’s a great link. So it can work? Even better to hear.
homewood
Feb 19th, 2009
Oh, I'm so sad for you.. Having a vacation means finding the right place to relax and to freshen your mind by having a rest not working.. Oh, I can't enjoy my vacation in that kind of situation. 6 weeks off in the summer with no worries about work sound pretty good that's the real vacation!