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Prior to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, we traveled out of state, across the country and overseas to unplug from the daily challenges of our jobs.
We planned for months, scoured travel websites as part of our research and booked excursions as an exercise in vacation foreplay. And then we packed, said goodbye to Fluffy, headed out and unplugged.
That’s right — we put our “out of office” on, forwarded our calls and left the text messages unread. We officially went off the grid and found a way to unplug for a few days.
The realities of COVID is that the lines have blurred in regard to being out of the office, working from home, and taking time off by walking from our home office to the living room, kitchen or pool.
Unplugging has been incredibly difficult for so many of us, even when companies mandate it, the doctor suggests it and the family demands it.
With travel severely limited and just now making a comeback, most of us have had to vacation in our own backyard. Think of it as a COVID version of the often-enjoyed staycation.
For more than 18-months, I have been talking about the 3 M’s — Mexico City, Medellin and Montreal. All are on my list for visits in 2021/2022, with Mexico City first-up this fall.
I know many of you have done the same, but you may have forgotten the basic element of a vacation. You are literally supposed to vacate your immediate world — job, boss, co-workers, stress and the pet peeves.
You gather your family (or run from them like I do), pick a great place full of great food, great sights, great stays and great energy. I am just back from Savannah from a boys’ trip — and it was absolutely delicious.
But I struggled to unplug. First, I am out of practice on how to vacation. Second, I was less than 500 miles away in a neighboring state with decent WiFi. Third, everyone here didn’t care that I was unplugged.
Couple that with my own boundary issues and well, being unplugged is a constant struggle.
That’s not to say I cannot do it — it is imperative. But, we as employers, bosses and leaders need to help our companies and employees refresh — especially now.
There is not a lot of difference between the home office and the regular office — the kitchen or the den. Even the laundry room has been in play to escape competing Zooms, background noise and internet overload.
And if unplugging is one of the best ways to refresh, then there are some great practices out there we should espouse and employ. Bumble, the popular dating app, gave all of its employees a full week off this summer as a way to incentivize rest.
And it worked. Employees raved about the time off, the need for time away from the fray, and the fact that with everyone else at the company unplugged, they could legit unplug as well. Brilliant!
I mean, imagine telling the lonely world of men and women seeking love, dates and affection on Bumble that hey, we will get back to you in seven days. Swipe right or left as much as you like this week — we simply aren’t here.
We are in fact, unplugged.
