Vacation is supposed to be a time to unplug, but even the most disciplined among us struggle to resist the urge to pick up that smartphone and check work email.
Sixty-eight percent of Americans use their smartphones for work during their personal downtime, and 55% of workers
“We’re wired to think that if we don’t respond to work messages, there’s going to be some sort of negative implication or ramification for that,” says Paula Davis, founder of the Stress & Resilience Institute. “But oftentimes, that’s unfounded.”
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Since the onset of the pandemic, the blurred lines between work and life, combined with the always-on nature of our
Vacations can be a vital ingredient to fighting that burnout, but convincing workers to take paid time off is an uphill battle. Sixty percent of workers don’t utilize all of their PTO, according to a report from Lighthouse Research and Advisory. For those that do, truly finding space to not think about work is a whole other fight. So many are “intentionally addicted” to a smart device, Davis says, which means separating from work requires self-discipline and unique best practices.
“It’s hard, right? A couple of years ago I was at Disney World with my daughter, and I was using the Disney app to know how long ride wait times were,” she says. “I didn’t want to be on my phone, but I was — and then it’s tempting to just check those work emails. So you have to set boundaries, and say, maybe, all our meals on vacation are going to be tech free. Leave your phone in the hotel room.”
But fighting burnout can’t fall solely on the shoulders of employees. Employers must consciously create policies and parameters that enable employees to take their personal time and space, Davis says.
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“I know organizations that will go so far as to say, it’s required that you stay off of email when we’re out — sort of like, we’re watching you,” she says. “But this is also about leaders setting standards. If a company says you’re not expected to be online when you’re out of office, but you see your manager constantly online during his or her vacation, that’s a mixed message. It starts at the top, and these policies have to be lived, not just talked about.”
Additionally, this commitment to work-life balance must be a daily focus of organizations, not something that’s respected or discussed only in relation to PTO and vacation time, which can often be “just a Band-Aid” for burnout, Davis says. (She notes that burnout often returns to pre-vacation levels within a couple of weeks of returning to work). Instead, employers and employees should build habits and policies that support day-to-day health and opportunities for employees to disconnect.
“At some companies, it’s part of their culture to put it in their email signatures: ‘Unless I mark my message to you as urgent, please respond during working hours,’” says Paula Allen, global leader and senior vice president of Research and Total Wellbeing at LifeWorks. “That gives the person who’s choosing to work off-hours permission to do so, and it gives others the space to not respond immediately.”
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A key component of successfully fighting burnout, Allen explains, is using that free space to focus on and explore other interests.
“When you’re burned out, you’re emotionally exhausted because your mind is focused on one thing all the time,” Allen says. “But like our bodies, our minds need to work in a number of different ways to be healthy. You need to have fun, you need to have white space, you need an opportunity for creativity. You can’t just go to work and then sit home and rest or meditate — that’s not going to create health. Build new skills, connections, and hobbies with downtime. That’s what will be truly restorative.”
