How to Set Boundaries With Your Team While You're on Vacation Are you one of those leaders who just can't seem to detach from "work mode" even when you're sitting on a beach in Hawaii? Here's how to ensure both you and your team can thrive when you're on vacation.
By John Boitnott Edited by Jessica Thomas
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It's all too easy to stay on call and available 24/7/365 when you're one of the company's top executives. Good leaders want to make themselves accessible, but good leaders also know it's essential to take breaks regularly — and to take a vacation at least once a year. It's essential if you're self-employed or a freelancer too. Taking a break now and then helps keep your business from taking over your entire life.
What's more, vacation-positive workplace culture is good for business. Encouraging employees to take vacations helps improve their productivity, reduces job dissatisfaction and raises employee engagement. Work-life balance might seem elusive, but it'll help you reduce a high turnover rate and the costs associated with it. It's an essential part of a productive, supportive work environment.
As your company's leader, you know you should encourage employees to take vacations by setting a good example and taking regular vacations yourself. But it's not so easy to simply step away and stay disconnected for two weeks, ignoring any work issues that arise. What's more, is your team actually empowered and capable of handling those little crises without your input? Do they even see a two-week vacation as a good thing?
Here are five steps to help both you and your employees truly unplug and enjoy a break.
Related: Feeling Burned Out? Maybe You're Not Being Selfish Enough With Your Time
1. Make sure you've empowered your team to begin with
It's simply not possible to take any extended break (i.e., more than a few days) if you haven't properly trained and empowered your team to deal with the little fires that spring up daily for any busy company. If that isn't the culture and practice at your company, this is where you need to start.
Start well in advance of your vacation by evaluating your team and making sure you've got the right people in key positions. In your absence, you'll need to have at least one person authorized to act as you would act if you were physically present.
Look for someone you'd choose to take over for you in a succession plan. Reliable, responsible creative thinkers are ideal for this role. Make sure this person also has a supportive team surrounding them who can assist them in carrying out their role while you're out of the office.
Once you have the right people in place, work through a series of scenarios that could easily arise in your company and think about what your second-in-command would need to solve the issue. That might include:
- Additional tools
- Authorization to act
- Clear boundaries and guidelines
Use your pre-vacation time to put those resources into play. Empowered employees aren't just important to your vacation plans. They're also the key to a healthier, more balanced work culture.
Related: How to Have Hard Conversations With Employees
2. Establish your boundaries and communicate them to your team
Before you leave on your trip, take a moment to think about your boundaries. What are you comfortable with? When do you want your employees to contact you, and when do you want them to handle things themselves? How often do you plan to check email and voicemail while you're away? Who will have your personal cell number and the authority to contact you?
Before you answer those questions with finality, consider setting some strict no-contact times. Obviously, you need to be informed of any true emergencies. An office building that's engulfed in flames would probably qualify, as would any major incident that incapacitates any member of your leadership team. However, the value of a vacation from work lies in the extent to which you can truly disconnect from that environment and give your mind, body and spirit a real break. It's the best way to return to work refreshed instead of filled with dread.
Whatever you decide, write the answers to those questions down. These are your vacation boundaries. Then, communicate these boundaries to your second-in-command and the rest of your team so that there are no questions or confusion in your absence.
Let the entire team know you'll be gone on vacation, for how long and who's in charge in your absence. Finally, make it clear that you'll all be sticking to this plan without exception — that you won't let anyone on the team guilt you into working while you're on vacation.
Related: 6 Tips for Staying Off Your Phone During a Much-Needed Vacation From Your Business
3. Remind yourself why you're taking a break
One common problem many driven entrepreneurs experience during their time away from the office is the feelings of guilt that often arise. Simply telling yourself "Don't feel guilty" may not be terribly effective.
Instead, retrain your brain into seeing vacations as good, valuable things — not just for you but for your employees and the business itself. Taking time for yourself is beneficial to all your company's stakeholders because it results in your improved ability to do the kind of deep, meaningful work that helps your business grow. Start by scheduling set periods of time away from work duties each day, so you can grow accustomed to regular, legitimate distance from the job.
One goal is to redirect your focus away from job responsibilities and towards relaxation and rejuvenation. Give yourself something new to occupy the space formerly occupied by obsessive work thoughts. Think about what you love to do. Ask yourself what you want to see and experience during your time off and how you can best give yourself a healthy reset with the right mix of rest and recreation.
Related: Offer These 8 Terms in Your Employee Relocation Packages to Make Your Offers More Competitive
4. Express gratitude when you return
No matter how well they've been prepared, your employees and management team have shouldered a somewhat heavier load during your trip. So it's appropriate to thank your coworkers for their understanding once you return from vacation.
Mark that gratitude with a tangible expression by giving the key personnel who helped steer the ship in your absence a gift of some kind. Then encourage them to schedule their own two-week vacations, sooner rather than later.
5. Don't stop with an annual break
Institute a sabbatical policy for your workers and for yourself. When you've properly prepared your team to handle the business and keep it moving towards its mission and goals, you can even take a year-long vacation and return to a smoothly operating business that's continued to grow in your absence.
