You’re midway into a week-long vacation in the peaceful countryside when your boss rings you up and asks you to turn in your report due for the week after you arrive. You try to argue to no avail–as if you had a choice. Road warriors are all too familiar with this scenario: with all the high tech gadgetry we carry around us all day, we tend to feel as if we’re on a short leash with our offices.
Sometimes, the freedom of mobility associated with being connected and/or online from anywhere translates to the feeling of being tethered within a tight circle. In other words, vacation time may just be a transfer of office space to somewhere with better scenery.
Perhaps businesses are not quick to realize it, but business solutions experts believe that companies should respect employees’ vacation times as these are moments to unwind, relax and recharge—coming back to the office in the next few days more productive and more efficient. Well rested employees are known to have better output and faster turnovers than overworked and stressed staff. Company formation experts advise startup firms to consider having contingency measures for instances when employees go on vacation, such as redundancy of tasks, or redistribution.
Otherwise, an employee’s vacation may just end up being costly in terms of communications cost and decreased productivity.