Why Some People Work On Their Holidays

One of my employees went on vacation. She took a well deserved week off work. The first Monday afternoon into her vacation I saw her reply…

One of my employees went on vacation. She took a well deserved week off work. The first Monday afternoon into her vacation I saw her reply to a customer email. On Tuesday, they replied to one of my emails from the week before and sent me a message on slack. I knew how hard she had been working for several months, and didn’t understand why she was still trying to keep up with things at work, that really weren’t that important.

Although I didn’t want to disturb her, I sent her a message.

“Thanks for the note, but that can wait until next week when you’re back. I appreciate it, but I want you to come back rested — I’ll give you a as much time next week just to catch up if you promise to shut off now.”

She responded back.

“Thank you.. It’s hard to shut off. Appreciate it. Speak soon.”

I didn’t hear from her until the week following. Noticeably, more productive, rested and energetic.

I couldn’t have been happier.

As managers, sometimes we don’t realize the role we hold or the influence we can have over an employee.

Always be there for your employees. Especially when it comes to helping them know that it’s OK to shut off every once in a while.