Each month we feature a question from our friends at Business Management Daily’s Admin Pro Forum. Please enjoy engaging in a conversation over this month’s question.
Question: “I actually stress out a little when my vacation rolls around because I feel I should work far ahead as a courtesy to the team so they don’t have to do anything for me that I could conceivably do in advance. Without them ever asking me to make that effort, sometimes I wind up working frantically because I don’t want to burden anyone during those two weeks. Am I doing the courteous thing, or am I unnecessarily taking on too much?” – Shayley, Tax Preparation Assistant
Comment below, and send your own question to [email protected].
I do all that I possibly can before I go on vacation. Unless an emergency arises, no one does any of my work while I am gone. I never take more than a few days or one week at the most at a time due to this. I scramble to work ahead as much as possible and then scramble when I get back to get caught up. It is very stressful leading up to the vacation and then returning to work afterwards.
I think making sure your work is as up-to-date as possible before you leave for vacation is being considerate to your team. They have their own work during the time you are gone so leaving with your work caught up will cause less stress for your admin team.
If you want to foster an environment where vacations are a good thing, then I suggest not doing all that “advance” work. It’s one thing to prepare your team for how to keep the balls in the air, it’s another to give the impression that you don’t trust them to keep the balls in the air. And all that extra work deprives someone from learning something new or challenging themselves. And frankly, investing all that time and energy in what you anticipate does not consider the crisis or unexpected.
I don’t stress or ‘freak-out’ anymore when it’s time for my vacation. There are generally multiple people involved in my projects and tasks. I just let them all know that I will be unable for a few days and someone always steps up to pick up the slack. As long as we all work as a team there is never any issue on who does what when I’m away. I bring in a temp to cover my Reception duties (I’ve created a Reception ‘how-to’ procedures) and all the admin stuff is taken care of by the team. Bottom line – as long as you and your team communicate with each other there should be no reason for you to cram all your work into a short period. BTW my team consists of myself (Admin), an HR person, someone from Finance and a manager who overseas some of the main projects I work on.
I think you are doing the courteous thing to lessen the load before you go, but there is only so much you can do…don’t stress yourself out ! I know I always appreciate when my co-workers anticipate problems before they go on vacation and try to have all of their “ducks in a row” before leaving town, but unless it is an emergency, most things can wait until they come back.
Bear in mind, when you come BACK from vacation, there will be a ton of work to catch up on, so relax & enjoy that vacation while you can!
I do the same thing as I don’t have a back-up. Also often times I leave my cell number as a point of contact during my vacation if emergencies happen to arise. Looking forward to what others do to prepare for well deserved time off.
In my position, it is difficult to do much in advance. But, this does not stop me from feeling guilty for going away for two weeks and leaving daily assignments to my back-up. I do try to look ahead and set up meetings, food caterers, etc. so that everything I can foresee in those two weeks is taken care of while I am gone.
But, everyone needs a vacation which is time to relax and become refreshed before returning to work.
Shayley – you’re in good company because I do the same thing! My dept doesn’t work quite like any other in our company so my tasks are unique. I tend to prep everything ahead of time so everything runs smoothly for my coworkers, but also, truthfully, so I don’t have twice as much work fixing things when I return!!
I find being proactive helps me relax more once I’m on vacation. I make a list of everything to complete before I leave and I start working on it well in advance of leaving. Small steps towards the ultimate goal. It took me a long time to learn you can’t prepare for everything and you know what, your coworkers will survive for a few days without you! I also came to realize I should be courteous to MYSELF. Once my day is done, I consciously let it go because I’m officially on MY time and I NEED that time! The craziness and mess will always be there when I return and I’m no good to anyone if I don’t return refreshed! Ultimately, it’s about me setting boundaries and mentally guarding my time and letting go!
Good Luck!!