Its summer time, which typically means family vacations on white sandy beaches or weekends away from the office with friends. While some us are lounging poolside sipping pina coladas basking in the sun, there’s always that one workaholic friend or family member searching for a signal on their iPhone (News - Alert) to keep up with the hundreds of e-mails flooding their inbox.
Put down your iPad or whatever your poison may be and enjoy your time away from your shadowed cubical; it’s called vacation for a reason.
While the BYOD phenomenon has many advantages, it can also be dangerous. With access to work on every possible mobile device at the tip of your fingers, it’s tempting to finish up that last e-mail at home or get ahead on tomorrow’s project during lunch. It may seem innocent or especially appealing to upper management, but workaholic tendencies quietly creep into your psyche, and next thing you know you’re burning yourself out.
The BYOD phenomenon is running rampant. Going to the snowy Alps? There’s not only a super durable anti-destructible cold climate case for your mobile device, but an app for it too. Going to the hot sandy desert? There’s a solar panel charger for your smartphone just in case those e-mails can’t wait.
These days, there’s no typical workday – RIP Dolly Parton’s 9-5 hit – it’s more like a 23-hour work day. Checking a simple e-mail after office hours can turn into a full blown project that will have you awake until the wee morning hours chugging 5-hour Energy drinks.
Vacations, even lunch breaks, are intended to be completely work-free. It’s easy to fall into a destructive pattern of catching up on work during time off, especially with easy anytime access that the BYOD phenomenon provides. It is important to “de-plug” yourself and step away from work, in order to maintain good mental and physical health.
Listen up workaholics: job burnout can effect more than your mental health; it can cause problems with your job performance. People experiencing job burnout often become cynical and critical at work; experience a lack of energy, dissatisfaction and irritability; lash out or become impatient with co-workers; and even eventually see a dip in quality.
If you find yourself rustling in bed at 4:00 a.m. with the urge to check if the style of bullet points matches the rest of your PowerPoint, you need a vacation. Take it; it’ll be well worth the tan!