Data suggests that vacation burnout is on the rise. That study of 2,000 professionals suggested that 68% of professionals feel anxious if they don’t check their work messages while on vacation and 66% struggle to disconnect at all. Burnout from working on vacation is reported for over half.
Back in 2014, I reported on a study from the Daily Mail that suggested when the average Brit “switches off” on a week-long holiday abroad. At that time, day 3 at 7:30 p.m. was the average time when one fully relaxed into vacation mode. So even before we were all constantly connected, that vacation burnout was something we all carried into our travels with us.
This has been something I’ve personally struggled with over the years. Over the course of almost 30 years of business travel, I grew used to always traveling with my work laptop. That shifted abruptly with new cybersecurity rules a couple of years ago that limited that practice. But now as I straddle two careers – my long-time one in consulting (now part-time) and one in travel – my need to work remotely has changed again.
How I try to avoid vacation burnout now
When I was in consulting, I tried to leave for my vacations a couple of days early. I’d enjoy the in-flight service on an international flight. By the time I boarded my cruise or settled into a resort hotel, I was fairly decompressed.
Now I have to put different rules in place because technology makes it easier to reach me 24 hours a day and anywhere in the world. Also, because some of my “work” is now doing things that look like vacation (familiarization trips, site inspections, accompanying groups), I try to have clear lanes for work and for leisure.
On most of my trips, I will limit the time windows in which I will guarantee availability. For my travel clients, I use Calendly to set up office hours during which I can take routine calls or work on specific issues. For my consulting clients and colleagues, I maintain clear availability on my Outlook calendar. Both calendars read from each other so there is no confusion about booking.
I also try to set up some of my regular work in advance so that it can be managed during my time at home. For example, I coordinate social media coverage via a content calendar with pre-queued posts. During my trip, I’ll designate times to edit photos, post real-time updates, and moderate posts or approve group members.
But most important, I try to protect time during which I’m unavailable for anything that is not a leisure activity. During this time, I block my calendar, put away electronics, and disconnect from networks so that I’m unreachable unless there is a true emergency.
Can you avoid vacation burnout by unplugging more?
Personally, I think I can still go on vacation and return recharged. It may require more management of my technology use and who has access to me. But if I can successfully control those things, I too can unwind at some point.
What can’t I control? Being sad that vacation is over. In the 2014 survey, 5% of those surveyed cried on the last day of vacation at the thought of returning. Me? I still cry 100% of the time, even when vacationing is part of my job.
