Leadership Insights from Talent Strategy Banner featuring managers at the computer, in meetings, outdoors and in a research lab.

Taking Time Off

Published on August 31, 2023

Whether you had a chance to take time off this summer or are planning a fall getaway, this issue is all about taking a break. We highlight the many benefits of vacation, how to prepare for it, and how to ease your way back into work.

Stepping away from work for a vacation allows people to replenish the energy they’ve lost from meeting the demands of daily life. Not only do people feel recharged after their vacation, they also report increased self-esteem and resilience. Despite the many researched benefits of taking time away, some experts consider employees in the United States to be “vacation-phobic.”

You need time off too!

Encouraging your direct reports to take vacations is a great start. However, your actions will have more influence than what you say. Avoiding vacations not only contributes to your own stress, but discourages your direct reports from taking vacations themselves. Modeling taking time off encourages your team to do the same.

Before you go, define boundaries.

Besides planning your itinerary, there are steps you can take to help you and your team while you’re away. Once you have a conversation with your manager and have your time off scheduled, create a plan on how to cover your absence. This is especially important if you are taking a longer vacation. The plan should cover expectations regarding responsiveness of both the vacationer and person(s) covering the work, anticipated workflow for those covering for the vacationer, and anyone who may be in contact with the person managing the work and access to information they may need to provide.

Communicate the dates you will be out – either by marking them as “Out of Office” (OOO) on your calendar or using another scheduling tool or system your team is using. If you complete much of your work via email, it’s a good idea to add upcoming OOO dates in your email signature. Collaborate with your team to identify who people can contact in your absence and add their contact information to your OOO email. Also, customize the OOO auto-reply to set boundaries regarding email access and when people can expect a response upon your return.

Easing Back In

When you come back to work, it can be tough to tackle the dozens (or hundreds) of emails needing your attention. Keep in mind that some benefits from vacation, such as increased creativity, don’t appear until two weeks after your return to the office. In the meanwhile, here are several strategies to help ease back into the routine:

Reflect on the impact of your work. What purpose does your team’s work have on the University and its mission? The Quick Guide to Orienting to Results and accompanying Orienting to Results Worksheet (Microsoft Word) can help you identify the impact your work has and focus on increasing those meaningful contributions. Reflect on the last few months of work you’ve done through this lens to bring meaning to your work when you return.
Identify concrete action-items. After reflecting on the big picture, break down abstract projects into achievable tasks. A large project can feel overwhelming but breaking it down into smaller tasks can make it more manageable and provide a sense of accomplishment when they are completed.
Connect with colleagues. Team members can help recognize the urgency and the importance of upcoming work. After they hear all about your trip, leverage them to know what you missed and what your next steps are. They were in the thick of work while you were gone and will be able to fill you in and prioritize tasks that require immediate attention.

Long-term Strategy for Building Resilience

A lovely trip or staycation are only temporary solutions to burnout. Recognizing and managing burnout requires continuous and long-term strategies.

The Quick Guide to Building Work Stress Resilience offers guidance on how to model burn-out prevention for your direct reports, while not being "over resilient." Learn how to help your team to adapt to difficult circumstances by coaching them to use effective coping strategies by addressing, reducing, or even removing work stressors.
Take mini-vacations. Not every vacation needs to be an Instagram-worthy getaway. Half-days off and treating the occasional weekend like a vacation, where you ignore housework and act like you’re on vacation, results in positive emotions during the work week.
Detach from work. Detaching from work during lunch, free evenings, and weekends mirrors the recovery experienced during vacations. Such boundaries support reduced psychological strain and exhaustion while increasing vigor at work. Relaxing during the weekend doesn’t just make Mondays easier, the benefits last throughout the work week.