Jeff Weidauer’s Post

To work or not work during vacation? It depends on your 'why.' In many cases some of us work on vacations for very healthy reasons: 1. It's just part of your role and being a professional 2. It helps you relax. For example, spending 15-30 minutes/day on vacation may help you both enjoy your time off and make it easier for you when you return Some of us also work during our time off for unhealthy reasons: 1. Not being able to trust others 2. Compulsivity (e.g., not being able to separate from work) 3. Need to show colleagues how hard you work and committed you are 4. Poor boundary setting (e.g., saying 'yes' to meetings that can easily wait until you get back) 5. Lack of internal support for others to cover 6. Inflated sense of importance (e.g., the company can't afford for me to not work) As we enter the final stage of this vacation season, it's a great time to reflect on your relationship with work during your time off and adjust accordingly for your next break.

From Vacation to Vocation Many employees take advantage of the summertime warm weather to enjoy their vacations. Having just returned from a relaxing vacation, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to get back into the work routine. Here are some quick tips based on my recent experience that can help you transition seamlessly. 1. Enjoy chill day Avoid being in transit just hours prior to returning to work. Plan your trips to ensure you have at least one day to relax at home.   2. Map out your day  Once you return, spend your morning planning your day. Do not try to fit everything into the first day. 3. Connect with colleagues & enjoy activities Reconnecting with colleagues by catching up on their weekends over a morning coffee can help you integrate back into the team and provides a mental break from diving straight into work. A brief 5-minute chat can set a positive tone for the day. Also incorporate activities you enjoy into your after-work routine to maintain a balanced lifestyle and keep the post-vacation blues at bay. Returning to work after a vacation doesn’t have to be stressful. Embrace the return and remember that the next vacation is just around the corner!

🚨 Watch Out: don’t miss your vacation opportunities! 🚨 As the summer sun shines brightly, the last day of July made me think about how essential it is to take vacations to pause and recharge. 🌟 I see that sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and forget about the most obvious things that taking time off gives: 🌞 improving work-life balance and preventing burnout 🌞 strengthening relationships 🌞 boosting well-being 🌞 boosting productivity upon return I usually take summer vacation in August or September – I’m waiting for them most of the year and I still wait this year too. My tip to make this waiting time nicer is to take regular shorter breaks for smaller trips. I plan it at the beginning of the year, making usage of the long weekends. It helps me to maintain balance between work and refreshment periods.  So, as we enjoy the summer season, let’s not forget to take those well-deserved days off. Trust me, your mind, body, and soul will thank you! 🌴🌺 Are you before or after your vacations? What are your tips not to miss planning your days-off? #WorkLifeBalance #MentalHealth #Productivity #WellBeing

News flash: Leaders need vacation too! 🏝️ Breaks are critical to boosting my resilience, leadership and creative skills. 2 ways I’ve learned to maximise vacation benefits: 1️⃣ 📸Take scenic photos. Make them your work PC wall paper or Lock Screen ✅ Every ‘vacay’ day I commit to capturing one scenic moment that moves my soul. ❌ No selfies, posed photos of family or adrenaline instilling photo angles #ForTheGram 🙄 Instead 🙌🏾 I take scenic shots or happy moments like this one of my son frolicking at the beach (at home in Tobago ❤️). 🌹 I make these my work and work phone wall paper/ Lock Screen. Why? Visuals of life beyond work help me ‘rejig’ my brain when things get stressful and remind me that there is more to life than the office ✅✅✅ 2️⃣ Start and ‘end‘ vacation with blocked calendar days😏😏 Confession: My first and last day blocked on my calendar for vacation are not actual ‘no work days’ … I use the first ‘vacation’ day to work remotely - clearing email, blocking my schedule and ensuring that I do a thorough handover. Note: this day does not account against my vacation total and I do let very key people (my boss,direct reports etc) know I’m busy BUT accessible on this day. I use the last ‘vacation’ day as a catch up day. Reading email, adjusting my calendar and preparing to be fully back at work at my best. Benefits to this approach? ✅ I start vacation knowing I’ve cleared ‘the decks’ and set my team up for success ❌ Not sacrificing work time to be ready for vacation - this creates a day to squeeze in a last few meetings. This means I have adequate time post this to prep for vacation (aka - packing and prepping my family to travel) 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 Fully restarting work clear in what needs to be done and not drowning in email or meetings. What tips do you have to make the joy of vacation last after you’ve returned to work? Happy #mojoMonday

Did you know that 42% of Americans opt out of taking any vacation days? Many of us have reasons like: 👉🏼 I'm too busy. 👉🏼 I can't stop. 👉🏼 I love my work. 👉🏼 I'm afraid things will fall apart. 👉🏼 I feel addicted to my work (and even to the stress!). Even when we do take vacations, our minds often stay at work. This means we don't get the real break we need. If you find yourself among this group, join me on June 10th at 3 PM ET for a live session on why taking a vacation is important now more than ever. It's time to give yourself permission to take a break. #CareerCoach #ExecutiveCoaching #ProfessionalDevelopment

Locking your employees out of their email during their vacation isn't the flex you think it is... I recently saw someone advocating for this. While I think it's important to have real vacations, I am also a lot more relaxed after being able to check in for 15 minutes each day. A large portion of my revenue was generated this year while I was on vacation. Not on purpose! I'm not sure why, but my clients love to give their offers while I'm traveling. It probably means I should plan more vacations. I'm more than okay with spending one hour of my vacation negotiating a killer offer for my candidate. It makes my vacation even better. But I also know which emails can wait. My work-life balance improved when I stopped trying to separate the two and instead figured out the balance that worked for me. Sure, you can say this works because I'm a business owner, but don't you want to give your employees the autonomy to run their own roles? Your employees need to learn how to manage their own time. If an employee is spending all vacation online, that's a problem. You should figure out how to resolve that, but locking them out isn't the answer.

How do you smoothly transition back into work routine after the summer vacation ends? Here are some tips to ease back into work after your holiday and avoid the post-vacation slump.

How do you smoothly transition back into work routine after the summer vacation ends? Here are some tips to ease back into work after your holiday and avoid the post-vacation slump.

You don’t need a Caribbean vacation to recharge. A single day can produce benefits, too. A lot of people feel exhausted when it comes to vacations—planning around personal commitments and school breaks, and deciding how to delegate major projects or put work on hold. But vacations don’t have to be a big time commitment to be significant to your health and happiness. Micro-vacations are times off that require you to use a day or less of vacation time. Because of their shorter duration, they typically require less effort to plan and don’t require you to coordinate the handing off of work. Plus, you can take them more often. If you’re looking to take micro-vacations, consider these options: Take a two- to three-day trip to someplace local. Or, take a day or afternoon off to finish those personal to-do items you’ve been postponing. Leave work for an hour or two to socialize with friends, or if taking the time is still an issue, work remotely in a serene location to give yourself the feel of a holiday while you’re still on task. https://lnkd.in/dnfyz-b2

“You’re on vacation; why are you working?” I often meet people from finance and audit who end up working on vacation. While it’s not uncommon, their complaints are usually about feeling annoyed, frustrated, robbed of personal time, or worried about a work overload waiting for them back at the office. Interestingly, I encounter someone who works during vacation without complaint and you can see the pure genuineness and happiness that he is working because he wants to. More interestingly, his boss is telling him to not work but he persisted. At first, as a nosy friend, I wanted to scold him, haha! I already knew how hardworking he is on weekdays, so seeing him work during vacation made me want to give him a kick. But when I saw his face, I decided not to and I ask, “Why?” He joked, “Because the company won’t have money if I don’t chase down our customers then they won't be able to pay me and I’m away for a whole week!”🤣 On a serious note, his response amazed me: "I didn’t work for a few years because of my physical and mental health, so I thought it would be hard for me to get a good job. I treat this job as a blessing. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to travel, buy nice things, or provide for my family. Given my condition, I never thought I’d be able to work properly again.” I know… You might suggest that he delegate his work to someone else while he’s away or use other ways to make sure he doesn’t have to work during vacation. There are so many ways so he could take a real break. But his story made me realize and hope that recruiters and business owners look beyond resume gaps and health issues in talented individuals. Don’t overlook talented individuals who: 1. Took time off for health reasons. 2. Have gaps in their employment history. 3. Are eager to prove themselves. Give them a chance, and you might discover a dedicated, grateful employee. For anyone going through something similar, I hope you’ll keep holding onto hope.