OOO and O
Out of office and offline — colleagues, please remember as we wrap up the summer that it’s time to UNPLUG when you go on holiday or vacation — whatever side of the pond you are on. For years I’ve written about the importance of signing off. Even the dog gets to be a dog when they camp for a week, take off the collars, swim in the lake, and burrow in the cool shaded dirt under the picnic table.
Just this past week I have received a litany of messages that go something like this:
I will be traveling with family out of the country with very limited access to internet July 27 — Aug 6. For any immediate questions, please contact my colleague … I look forward to connecting when I return from my “journey”.
Or this:
Just wanted to let everyone know I’ll be away on vacation tomorrow June 19 through July 5, returning July 6. I’ll be checking email periodically but will also check out as much as possible!
How about this?
I will be traveling with family out of the country and unplugged from work-related email or text from July 27 — August 6. Looking forward to a great break and uninterrupted time with family. For immediate needs contact Joe Smith or Susie Que at xxx-xxxx. You’re in great hands and I look forward to being in touch when I return on the 7th.
Must we feel compelled to check in? We give our teams the chance to back us up or back-fill for one another so we can return the favor when it’s our turn. We get much needed rest. We also empower our teams to fill the void. Are we so indispensable we send the message subliminally or otherwise that we can’t trust our teams and are so important we have to check in? Or are we insecure we might miss something or that they won’t know under what emergency conditions to reach out? I don’t know, but this whole connected all the time everywhere, anywhere, on all devices is killing our souls. If we can’t catch a literal break in the summer, how can we rest, rejuvenate, recreate, re-create, relax, or any other host of re’s? Colleagues, it’s not only time to unplug, it’s OK to unplug. It’s essential to unplug. Take a break.