Stop feeling guilty about taking a vacation
How long ago did you last take a break from work?
Hello, hello! 👋🏽 Welcome to one of the last few editions of Perceptive Madness for 2021!
This week, I'm writing to you from under a mountain of work. Why? I hear you ask (humour me). It's because I'm officially going on a two-week break starting next week. That means I'm now trying to fit a month's worth of work within two weeks. Fun, amirite?
Turns out, I'm not alone. Since many folks want to take a break over the next two weeks, everyone seems to be overworking. It's nice — misery does love company after all.
Today though, I'm here to talk to those of you who haven't taken your paid time off yet. Not just for 2021 or 2020. Take a moment to think, when was the last time you took a few days or a week off to destress and decompress?
If you need to think for a minute, then I think you're due for another break real soon, my friend. Because the only thing companies like more than underpaying their employees — seeing accrued leaves and paid time off (PTO) lapse.
Companies love pitching their "We're a family, not a workplace!"1 agenda to guilt you into overworking and sticking around for longer than you're supposed to.
But try taking a week or two off, even within your paid leave, and see how your "family" reacts. You have to ask for permission, get an approval (which can be revoked if the higher powers deem you irreplaceable), and god forbid you're on probation — your leave isn't even paid.
Don't even think for a moment that all companies care about the holidays and making sure you can spend time with your family. You only have to read about that company that laid off 900+ people even after getting $750 million in funding to realize they don't really care. So you can and should take your time off without worrying about how the company will handle work without you.
Vacation guilt
That was the subject line for a newsletter l I got from Out of Office Network back in June, right around the time Europe slowly started going on holiday.
It stuck with me. Both the subject line and the email itself. In that issue, they explored how Europeans vs Americans have very different perspectives on taking breaks and vacations. They pointed out the difference in the number of paid leaves employees could take in both places. America came out on the bottom, to no one's surprise.
If we were to pit India and America against each other regarding how much vacation employees get, I think they'd be at the bottom together. So many of my friends get a pitiable few days off — the occasional bank or festival holiday, not even counting those lost to the weekends this year (too many). Some of them don't even get the entire weekend off.
Now there's a difference between not being given enough time off by your company and not being able to take time off that you've been given.
For full-time folks, the question arises — how can you go on a break when your team/company depends on you to get something done? You're the only one who knows how to do it. Without you, that particular task will stop, be done poorly, or you'll just have to overwork when you're back.
A stressful vacation where you're anyway being bombarded with calls on "OMG, how to do this?" or "Can you take me through the steps please?" even after a very detailed handover is almost not worth it.
A vacation is when you can properly switch off from work — when you trust that your colleagues or your clients respect your time off and will hold any questions until you return. No urgent situation or emergency should rest on your shoulders alone anyway. Companies need to build teams that can support each other throughout. This is not an impossible ask.
After all, if European countries can function on 35-hour weeks with strict no-work-on-weekends and take 30 days of paid leave every year, why do we need to hit 50-60 hour weeks, sacrifice Saturdays (alternate or otherwise), and "be reachable" during our vacations?
Surely, the work that we all do cannot be so important that it's worth our mental, physical, and emotional health? Companies need to plan better, and we need to demand more.
What are the benefits of taking your PTO?
All of this sounds very sentimental and passionate, but if you need to pitch your PTO requests to your bosses, you need concrete facts. I've got you covered.
Scientifically, in one sentence — it's good for you. It's good for your brain, good for your body; it's great for your personality. You're less likely to be crabby and stressed out, and that'll improve productivity.
In fact, if you don't take your time off, you're not being as productive as you could be, and you're also on track to burnout. Unused vacation days cost US businesses alone $220 billion. Imagine that figure across the world.
Besides the monetary benefit for companies, vacations also have a positive personal impact. They increase cognitive flexibility, help you slow down and unwind your minds. This helps you gain new perspectives. It's also news to no one that vacations decrease stress and anxiety, improving your overall disposition and life.
Studies have also found that "taking more paid vacation days was positively associated with both overall health and life satisfaction." This positive effect continues for months, and your experiences can have long-lasting effects on your present happiness.
Taking paid vacations is also associated with longer, healthier lives. However, skipping vacation for ONE year can increase your risk of heart disease. So take your breaks when you can, or your job could literally give you a heart attack.
If all the sciency stuff didn't convince you, here are some cold, hard truths:
If you need to resign and your contract states that you cannot take your paid leaves during your notice period, encash them, or even shorten your notice period — you've lost those days for good.
We all trade our time for money. That's how most of us work. We are entitled to some of that time back for ourselves. To spend time enjoying the sun, being present with our loved ones, and taking care of ourselves.
Some companies may not allow you to carry your leaves forward. Or they might have a cap on how many leaves you can accrue/encash/take in a year. Do your best to finish up all your leaves in the timeline that works best for you.
If you're a freelancer and worried about stopping work when projects are coming in, know that opportunities will always be around. If you can afford to take a break to rejuvenate, you should.
Learn to make time for rest
As a freelancer, I struggle with the idea of taking vacations. Taking a break or going on a vacation is very alluring, but it doesn't seem as easy to do as it is to dream. Taking time off means that I have to pay for it out of my pocket. No company offers me paid leave. If I don't work for two weeks, I don't get paid for two weeks. It's pretty straightforward.
Most veteran freelancers learn how to schedule their holidays and their work to pay for their time off without worries. I've managed the financial bit, but the guilt of saying no to work still lingers. In fact, even though I've told every client (and prospect) that I'll be back in January after this week, a part of me still wants to take on more work.
After all, more work = more money = more stability.
But I think back to earlier this year when I wrote about how I struggled taking time off2 to rest. I always use my holidays to do something or the other. This newsletter was born during one such "break" that my old friends, burnout and stress, forced me to take. Why else would the first issue explore a book about burnout, stress, and an inability to switch off from work?
But it's imperative to recognize that we are not machines and that we need breaks where we do absolutely nothing but watch lame movies and sleep all day. If that's what it takes to mend our brains and bodies, so be it.
You may have to "earn" your time off, but you deserve good rest, so if you do get a chance to take a break before this year ends, prioritize yourself.3
The Out of Office Network newsletter I mention in this issue is a fantastic read and also has some cool resources you could check out. I couldn’t find an online archive but I’d be happy to forward the issue to you — just reply to this email!
Penny for your thoughts?
Your anonymous feedback helps me improve. TIA!
Cool stuff to check out this week! 💌
The Japanese have a word for "death by overwork" — karoshi. In this New Yorker article, Cal Newport explores why we all feel the need to work 20% extra every day. It's this 20% that creates "persistent stress" from overwork and overload. 😓
I'm adopting the German concept of "hate days" — Kleinscheiss Tag. This is when you do all the things you hate on one single day — all those tasks you hate, those chores that drain you, and anything else that saps your energy. 😡
Cartoons don't seem like they're as good as they used to be, eh?4 Here's a nice site to relive your TV faves from the 2000s all the way back to the 60s! 📺
I'm slowly making my way through Christmas/Holiday movies between mountains of work. I watched Happiest Season the other day, and I have to say, it was really well done. I love so many folks in the cast, and I thought they complemented each other well. Although I'm a bit iffy about the ending5, it is a Christmas movie, after all. 🎄
Finally, here's your weekly reminder:
Spread some festive cheer and send this issue to your friend or colleague who desperately needs to take a break. ✨
Oh, and don’t forget to press the little heart (it sends some festive cheer right back to me)! ❤️
See you next week!