My connected and assertive vacations: the summer zoom
A disconnected vacation. That's the official anthem heard from all sides in recent years! Do you feel against the grain with this injunction? Truth be told, you've chosen to stay connected with your company even during your summer vacations? Let's take a closer look at the right to stay connected during the holidays... Because connected doesn't mean working: you can let go of your guilt! This very special year is bound to give rise to some special situations.
On vacation, I'm staying connected, that's decided!
Come on, let's face it. There are 2 opposing clans on this subject.
There are those who advocate absolute disconnection on vacation, and those who insist on staying connected all summer long. So why should you stay connected to your e-mails or even your business phone while on vacation?
"For some business leaders, choosing to stay connected to the company and customers even while on vacation is a strong signal at this time of year. Some businesses need support for relaunching, for an effective recovery... And many managers want to support and advise. Whether for their teams or their customers, remaining a shoulder to lean on is a role close to their hearts. That's why staying connected is a given for them, and I understand them perfectly."
Staying connected to accompany
Of course,staying connected this summer is for some seen as a way to support activities, businesses, colleagues.
Rudy Bellamy, of Bordeaux-based agency Alphea Conseil talks to us about employees who voluntarily choose to stay connected on vacation.
"An employee (executive, manager or other) may feel more comfortable with the idea of keeping in touch with their teams or customers. Some personalities need to keep their hand in, with a different management style, more focused on consulting/coaching to encourage team autonomy.
It's important not to blame employees who prefer to stay connected (inbalance with their personal lives), without encouraging it. Everyone lives their job as they see fit, and for some, keeping the link and offering quality of service by redirecting an email to the rest of the team, for example, is essential."
An ideal balance?
Beware, however: staying connected doesn't have to mean enduringrepeated assaults and hyper-connection at work during the vacations. The trick is to find asubtle dosage, which respects both your need for rest for your health, and availability for the company. Also, you could imagine a fair balance by defining small availability slots, for example.
As a fervent practitioner of controlled disconnection on a daily basis, here's what we're advised to do Laurent Escarieux, head of the Alphéa Conseil agency in Nantes:
"Connection is detrimental to concentration; it's the opposite of efficiency. Since in the long term, connection (or hyper-connection) is anxiety-provoking, stressful and destabilizing for the physiological balance... During the vacations, if you feel the need, disconnect!"
In practice, you can also draw inspiration from Laurent, who knows how to remain available to his customers... While hierarchizing the importance of the communications that reach him.
Finally connected or disconnected on vacation, the key is to suffer neither situation. If your choice is to stay connected, for reasons of your own. Then make the choice and go for it!
