CAPE TOWN - Working longer hours or never feeling like you're away from work can be harmful to your mental and physical health, so the always-working, no-time-off paradigm is a problem.
In encouraging employees to take care of themselves this holiday season, and eliminate the no-work guilt feeling, Anja van Beek, Talent Strategist, Leadership & HR Expert and Executive Coach shared some insights on how to “leave” by example.
She referenced a World Health Organization (WHO) study that found that working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week.
The importance of recovery
High performing individuals, aka corporate athletes, understand that there should be a balance between stress (energy expenditure) and recovery (energy renewal). They are aware that being in survival mode most of the time is a red flag for any individual. Think of an athlete which has a rest and recovery time during the off-season. High performers or corporate athletes need a proper break to replenish their energy.
But, an annual break isn’t sufficient. Prioritise your day by dividing it into regular shorter breaks. Steer away from back-to-back meetings and create rituals for the teams to do a mindful check-ins.
Close off the year as a team. Reflect retrospectively
As a team, create a ritual of closing off the year in a deliberate way. Most people can relate with outstanding or incomplete items taking up space in your mind – especially as your planned leave is nearing. An easy way to ensure we all can have a “worry-free” holiday and not ruminate about work, is to do a retrospective.
- Become mindfully present
A practical exercise is to monitor how many hours you spend ruminating about work. Keep a record of this and you may be surprised how much time and energy you are wasting.
Secondly, define your own “psychological leave ritual” -- similar to changing clothes and putting on your slacks after a workday. Do the same before going on leave.
Here are a few other tips to consider:
- Write your list of to-do-items for your first work-week back, schedule your meetings in advance (preferably not your first workday!);
- Be proactive: Before your holiday, discuss and agree on a plan with your manager to ensure there’s cover for your work tasks in your absence;
- Do craft a helpful “Out of Office” reply saying who can be contacted in case of emergency;
If you are part of a team, agree upfront that, should there be a crisis, to not use e-mail communication but rather a WhatsApp or a phone call.
Some people even prefer to delete all work-related apps from their phones.
Cape Times