Remember the 80’s smash, Vacation, from the Go-Go’s? As we are in the last half of August, most people I know are actually on vacation. The real question is with today’s email connectivity, whether they really are on vacation?
According to the Go-Go’s the point of a vacation is ” Vacation Had to get away Vacation Meant to be spent alone..” Unfortunately with email and mobile devices, we are virtually unable to be ‘left alone’.
I came across a great blog by Rebecca Coggan where she quotes from a new AOL email usage study. She says, “ More than 50% said they check their email while on vacation. It’s even higher among mobile users. 78% of those who have a mobile device check email while on vacation.” She also writes, ” 28% said they feel obligated to check work email while on vacation, and 19% choose vacation spots with email access.”
That just sounds sick to me. I once had a job with a prominent Wall-Street bank and my boss told me that he was flying to the Himalayas for a 2 week vacation. I thought to myself, that this would mean that I’d get a bit of downtime at work and be able to spend some quality time with my family. Well much to my surprise within an hour of landing he sent me an email from his Blackberry. C’mon.
People need to understand that it’s okay not to be connected 24/7 as well as that the world will go on if you don’t answer an email. If you are a business owner or a manager, you need to trust the employees that you hired, to be able to do the job while you are out of the office.
But maybe all is not lost. Ronda Muir writes on her lawpeopleblog that a law firm is urging employees to disconnect while on vacation. ” Linklaters is reported having decreed, in a fit of concern for work/life balance, that lawyers leave their Blackberrys at home while on holiday (vacation to us).The order is designed to insulate associates, in particular, from the relentless rat race for a few sweet weeks a year, according to management.”
Good for them Let’s hope that this becomes a trend.
Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.
