August is the peak holiday month when traditionally things slow down a little at work. More people are away and there are fewer meetings – making it a good time to catch your breath and reflect.
This is still true today, even if August isn’t quite the ‘shutdown’ that it used to be. There was a time when almost nothing happened in August. Whole senior teams would coordinate their holidays so nearly all of them were off at the same time while things were quiet.
In our more connected, always-on world today, the pace may dip a little but things never actually stop. And for some sectors of course – tourism, travel and leisure being obvious ones – now is their peak season and it’s very much all hands to the pump.
All in all, it feels like there is never a truly ‘quiet period’ anymore. That just makes it even more important that we do take some time off to relax and recharge. We all know about the very real issues of burnout and poor mental health that have become so much more prominent in recent years. One driver behind this, in my view, is that it has become harder to disconnect from work.
Take sufficient time off
So, when it comes to holiday season, I have two key messages. Firstly, take some time off! Whether that’s during the July/August peak holiday season or at another time of year, make sure you have a proper break. Ideally, take at least a week in one go, preferably more. Some people seem to end up taking a couple of days here and a few days there, spread across the year when the opportunity arises, but I’m not sure you feel the benefits as much given that it inevitably takes a few days to decompress.
Take your holiday and don’t feel guilty about it. The world won’t end and the business won’t go under just because you’re away! Things have a habit of carrying on one way or another, things get done that need to get done, and people manage in other people’s absence. That said, one of the key ‘skills’ to taking holiday is making sure you prepare the way as much as you can in advance – completing what you need to get done before you go, handing over things that need looking after, briefing colleagues as necessary.
When on holiday – you are on holiday!
My second key message is that when you’re on holiday, be on holiday! I do understand the realities and the pressures, but surely no one wants to be that person sitting by the pool or walking around a fantastic historical monument – constantly glued to their phone, checking what emails have come in, replying to messages. Admittedly, it can be hard. A YouGov survey of a few years ago found that as many as 60% of us admit to checking emails while on holiday, and a quarter of people do so ‘very often’. I doubt this has changed since. I too am guilty of such behaviour!
The ability to disconnect largely comes down to having faith in the people you work with. They will cover for you, just as you cover for them when they are off. It’s all part of being a team, with a sense of shared responsibility and shared objectives, and trusting in others’ abilities to keep the continuity going.
When you’re on holiday, switch off and take a break from all those things we spend our time thinking about at work – that meeting that’s coming up, those emails you need to reply to, that presentation you’ve got to put together. But switching off doesn’t mean that you can’t reflect more generally about the ‘big picture’. I always find holiday a great time to be a critical friend to myself, standing back and thinking about what’s been going well, what I could do better, and what I could change going forward. This helps you lay the ground and prepare yourself mentally and emotionally to ‘go again’ when you come back with renewed energy, focus and commitment.
Calm before the busy period
That’s important because the August lull comes right before the busiest time of the year for many businesses. From September through to Christmas the pace can be frantic. For customer-facing organisations, the service demands increase and the pressures on customer service staff can become intense.
For all these reasons, I hope everyone makes sure they have had some down time and are ready for what is set to be a helter-skelter final quarter of the year. There are still many challenges around us, as a country and an economy, and I am sure that the new government will have a raft of measures and policies it wants to pursue.
As service professionals, we need to rise to the challenges around us and keep the customer at the heart of the agenda. We can only do that well if we’re fresh for what lies ahead – so, be kind to yourself and make sure you take the holiday time you deserve.
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