O-O-O Reply, Activate!
We’ve reached that point in August where about 40% of my emails receive an absolutely immediate response, courtesy of an auto-reply message indicating that the recipient is out of the office for vacation.
A fine day at Sandy Hook, NJ
I am a work in progress, so I am willing to admit that my instantaneous response is pure, unmitigated jealousy. I think about how Bill Murray followed Richard Dreyfus to his vacation home in What About Bob, unwilling to be left behind while his therapist took some well-earned time off. And honestly, Bob, I get it. What about Julia?
Once that passes, I feel a sense of calm and peace—even though I’m not the one with my toes in the sand and funnel cake crumbs on my shirt, shielding my eyes from the sun. I’m happy for you, my vacationing colleague. Because there are few times when we as a universal collective get to prioritize our sense of fun, family, and our time away. When we get to be spontaneous, or lazy, adventurous or completely disconnected. This is the precious time that August and the winter holiday season give us. Because of that, we’re in this vacation thing together.
I’m a mid/late-July vacationer myself. I choose that timing so I can look forward to it a little bit once the school year ends and so there’s still some local summer to enjoy when I get home. This year I took my daughter to Wildwood, New Jersey, where we spent rainy mornings reading and relaxing, then hit the boardwalk for rides once the clouds broke open to reveal one of the six consecutive, spectacular sunsets that we got to witness. This year, she leveled up in age and so we had a new development: I got to ride the scary rides with her. An obnoxiously braggadocios Gravitron devotee, I was stoked.
The "It," which my daughter made me ride 48,000 times.
My sense of equilibrium, my friends, is not what it used to be. But I digress.
Since the pandemic, I’ve found that folks are less likely to take sick days off. Remote work means we’re always expected to be online, even if our red-rimmed eyes and swollen noses mean we have to be off-camera. I lead a team of very talented, hard-working folks and so it’s not a trend I love— I’d rather they take time to rest and be back at 100% than try to suffer through at half capacity. Sick days exist for a reason, and I’ve known many people over the years whose unyielding dedication has resulted in the need to tell them they have to log off and get some rest. Whether it’s dedication or conditioning of the current workplace culture—or both— they’re often afraid that their illness will burden others. It won’t. And neither will their PTO.
Our remote, 24-hour culture means that every vacation day is even more precious. I’m happy to always be connected with clients and colleagues who get it, and who will work to ensure that you can work ahead when necessary to ensure your projects keep moving forward and be covered when needed so that you get that time to go away and just be. Because they know: You always come back better.
Enjoy your August, or as I call it, the Sunday of summer. Enjoy every night under the stars, every warm breeze by the shoreline, every fast-melting ice cream cone that makes a mess in your hand, every laugh that echoes from your circle of friends, gathered together, relaxed and rested.
The work will be there. It always is, and you’ll handle it. You always do.
