Have you heard it a few times after your vacation? People who say that they are ‘ready for a vacation again?’ Or the people who went all out and were whistled back by their body and called in sick quite quickly after a vacation? In this article I will discuss the phenomenon of ‘vacations’ and how we can make sure that we use them better.
Disconnecting from the ‘daily grind’
Of course you want to develop a life that you don’t have to take a vacation from, but that’s easier said than done. Especially for women. When you get a vacation, and the housework keeps coming, you can’t “disconnect” from the “daily grind.”
Research shows that it is better for women (more than men) to actually leave everything behind and ‘go on vacation’. In fact, it turns out that a business trip alone gives a feeling of a break from the ‘daily grind’ (source: Rest, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang).
Leisure sickness
By the way, it is also not strange that, when you get a holiday after a busy period, you do not feel completely fit the first week. Your body (and mind) then get the chance to give in to the accumulated fatigue and some people actually get sick. From a flu, cold to pounding headache.
This phenomenon is also called ‘leisure sickness’ and has been studied by Ad Vingerhoetsearly 2000. This shows that about 3% of people suffer from this. Not too good, but also not shocking numbers at first glance. Although it is questionable, just like with pink neglect, to what extent it is passed on.
Did you know that if people don’t take a vacation, it also costs the organization a lot of money. This can lead to health damage, such as an increased risk of heart failure, a higher risk of burnout and emotional exhaustion. Saving vacation days is therefore not advisable. That is why vacation days also expire at some organizations, use them or loose them.
By the way, a tip for people who got sick on vacation: if you get sick on vacation, you can call in sick. This will not be at the expense of your vacation days. One of the reasons why I am in favor of unlimited leave is so that people do not start maximizing and hoarding. Then you do not have to call in sick when you are on vacation.
Taking an optimal holiday
If you want to recover well and get away from work, a good ‘work break’ consists of 4 elements, as indicated by the German sociologist Sonnentag 4. Ensure:
- Relaxation (relaxation)
- Control (autonomy over your time and energy)
- Mastery (personal development/progress through challenging things)
- Mental disconnection (not being busy with work for a while, being able to take some distance, literally and figuratively)
That is why it is also important to have enough energy during your vacation, and outside of work, to choose active entertainment (as opposed to passive entertainment). Active entertainment is a hobby, something you have to make an effort for, like reading a book or playing an instrument. As soon as you stop, the ‘entertainment’ also stops.
Someone who is ‘mentally battered (weak)’, a statement from a cycling buddy of mine, is more likely to turn to passive entertainment. That is scrolling on your phone, watching Netflix and especially not exerting yourself. You don’t have the energy for that, which means you miss an important element in the recovery. The quality of your ‘work break’ then decreases.
This mental burnout is not crazy. You have had too little recovery and your prefrontal cortex, the place where your motivation is stimulated, among other things, has been squeezed out and has become a dry sponge. Everyone knows that a sponge must remain wet, otherwise it will absorb water less quickly. Keep your saw sharp and your sponge wet, Covey could have said better.
The effects of a holiday
Taking regular vacations is better than taking a long vacation once. Researchers found that the effects lasted about 3 to 4 weeks before people returned to their old pre-vacation feeling (and sometimes even sooner). There you have it, your colleagues who are longing for the next vacation.
The funny thing is that we spend more and more on holidays and that fits in with the work hard play hard-work mentality. While that is precisely a recipe for mediocrity and exhaustion. It is better to maintain a more moderate pace and life, so that even the shorter interruption of work is enormously fruitful.
Now lately I’ve been obsessed with everything that has to do with slow has to do with. Of slow-productivity (Cal Newport) to slow travel (bikepackingJump on a plane right away for a all inclusive-8 days vacation is not for me. And he indicates that we have to work much more with seasons and get used to them.
From 2 months of no appointments blocks (fully asynchronous work), to blocks of 6 weeks with 2 weeks of rest, the (hint at the) 4-day workweek and even the micro variant. In this case you stop 2 hours earlier and do something completely different. Think of going to the movies during the day.
Perhaps the latter is a good tip for your colleague: let him or her do something completely different ‘during working hours’.
The icing on the cake
The above will help you prevent failure, but also absenteeism. And last but not leastthen that colleague no longer craves a vacation, but it is the icing on the cake after a period of work. In the end, that is what most people want: just-nice-work.
Source: www.frankwatching.com
