NFT: Cutting the work email cord entirely while on vacation

Turn it off and enjoy the time you earned.

I am turning it off when I go away.

I would be afraid to come back if I didn't check every couple of days at least.

Just setup your "Out of Office" message to automatically send a message to anyone that emails you, that you are out of the office for a specific amount of time with very limited access. That you will address all emails once you return.

Do the same with your voicemail at work and you're all set!

In comment 13046050 Steve in South Jersey said:

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I would be afraid to come back if I didn't check every couple of days at least.

Yeah, that has always been my approach too. However, not checking it most of the week in June was amazing. I started to feel like a kid on summer vacation. I love my job, but as I get older, I am finding I don't want to be thinking about this stuff 365 days per year.

That way, I can just flush it if I want it gone. ;)

In comment 13046060 Rick5 said:

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In comment 13046050 Steve in South Jersey said: Quote: I would be afraid to come back if I didn't check every couple of days at least. Yeah, that has always been my approach too. However, not checking it most of the week in June was amazing. I started to feel like a kid on summer vacation. I love my job, but as I get older, I am finding I don't want to be thinking about this stuff 365 days per year.

Please let me know how it goes if you go through with this because I have a similar mindset to you. My sabbatical is in the fall and I'm thinking of just ignoring my work email. Do you have some kind of auto reply? So that if it is a real emergency they can contact you in some way?

One thing I did that saves a tremendous amount of time and mental energy, is that I make our all faculty email list and the various listservs I'm on all go into my deleted files folder automatically. Then I just skim that folder once a day and if something is interesting I look at it, but if not I don't have to take the time to drag it over or delete it.

what you do.

I couldn't do what I needed to do if I wasn't there.

All depends on how important your ego thinks you really are?

but last year i went to Europe and skipped getting phone service. So I checked it once every 24-48 hours on wifi. Really relaxing. Next big vacation I take, Im turning off the push on my email.

Why even bother going on vacation in the first place?

In comment 13046054 NYG27 said:

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Just setup your "Out of Office" message to automatically send a message to anyone that emails you, that you are out of the office for a specific amount of time with very limited access. That you will address all emails once you return. Do the same with your voicemail at work and you're all set!

It's embarrassing how often people completely disregard out of office or just don't read them and keep sending emails wondering why they aren't getting a response

In comment 13046076 Stan in LA said:

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Why even bother going on vacation in the first place?

This

with my wife, kids, family, etc I'll uninstall the mail app on my phone and devices. I didn't always do this but came to understand that it's not a real vacation if you've not removed work from the equation. And it can be a point of contention with those you're traveling with when you're "working".

I'm lucky b/c i have an assistant to help with administrative and somewhat easy tasks making my return much more seamless.

But try this - if you have a coworker who is familiar with what you do - or even does the same job - ask him/her to be used as an URGENT request contact. I've done this as well and it works out great. Because we both know that i'll do the same for my colleague when he/she is away for vacation.

if you check emails. I usually come back to 500-700 if I'm out a week and I don't care at all. Clearing them out takes work and there's no point in doing it while on vacation. If you are that worried, take an extra day off to catch up when you get back (I wouldn't but it's better than dong it while away).

I put an out of office up with what to do and who to contact while I'm out.

I set my out office to "I will answer upon my return" and left my cell number for urgent calls only. I also listed a group email distribution of a team who were covering for me.

No one called and I came back to 500 emails for the week.

Now I'm at a major chemical company doing a different consulting project. Just did a weeks vacation and did the same procedure. No one called.

Enjoy vacation time.

In comment 13046054 NYG27 said:

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Just setup your "Out of Office" message to automatically send a message to anyone that emails you, that you are out of the office for a specific amount of time with very limited access. That you will address all emails once you return. Do the same with your voicemail at work and you're all set!

I agree completely. At the same time, as a therapist I have backups in place for emergencies (as you must, Rick) and in limited cases of clients in extreme crisis a setup whereby a colleague can reach me to call that client back if necessary.

because due to modern accessibility people expect an immediate response to everything and feel like their unimportant bullshit is the most important thing to mankind.

if you don't reply in 5 minutes or worse they get your out of office message they email your boss who then has to find someone else to help and it just creates this enormous pile of shit attached to your name. God forbid your boss is out too and the shit reaches your bosses boss, that's never good and even though companies tout a "work life balance" they don't mean it or care about it, especially the higher up you get on the org chart.

So reality is no, you really can't take a work free vacation, if you're in some hugely unimportant technology related fields.

But...once you've become seasoned at your job, you find ways to respond subtly to make it seem like you care and are "working on something" but you're on the golf course or at Disney, or deep sea fishing, etc. and truthfully don't give a shit about the problem this person has but you prefer to not get hassled about it.

it's part art, part science, but it really helps keep the shit off your back.

In comment 13046070 Moondawg said:

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In comment 13046060 Rick5 said: Quote: In comment 13046050 Steve in South Jersey said: Quote: I would be afraid to come back if I didn't check every couple of days at least. Yeah, that has always been my approach too. However, not checking it most of the week in June was amazing. I started to feel like a kid on summer vacation. I love my job, but as I get older, I am finding I don't want to be thinking about this stuff 365 days per year. Please let me know how it goes if you go through with this because I have a similar mindset to you. My sabbatical is in the fall and I'm thinking of just ignoring my work email. Do you have some kind of auto reply? So that if it is a real emergency they can contact you in some way?

I really don't have to worry about an emergency. I have coverage for patient issues, and everything else can wait. It's really always been more about not having to deal with so much stuff when I get back, but I think that tradeoff is probably worth it now. I am going to find out.

In comment 13046094 yatqb said:

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In comment 13046054 NYG27 said: Quote: Just setup your "Out of Office" message to automatically send a message to anyone that emails you, that you are out of the office for a specific amount of time with very limited access. That you will address all emails once you return. Do the same with your voicemail at work and you're all set! I agree completely. At the same time, as a therapist I have backups in place for emergencies (as you must, Rick) and in limited cases of clients in extreme crisis a setup whereby a colleague can reach me to call that client back if necessary.

I do, but I only spend about half of my time doing clinical work. It's the other half that is the issue - teaching, committees, student issues, research. That stuff just builds up and won't be fun when I get back. I don't really work on vacations, but being able to respond to some emails each day (confirming a meeting date and time) clears a lot out.

Delegate and figure out a backup and don't look at that shit.

It's terrible how so many people convince themselves they have to "peek at it" or "check in every few hours" or that the amount of email waiting will somehow be worse than working on a vacation. It's sad.

In comment 13046098 pjcas18 said:

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because due to modern accessibility people expect an immediate response to everything and feel like their unimportant bullshit is the most important thing to mankind. if you don't reply in 5 minutes or worse they get your out of office message they email your boss who then has to find someone else to help and it just creates this enormous pile of shit attached to your name. God forbid your boss is out too and the shit reaches your bosses boss, that's never good and even though companies tout a "work life balance" they don't mean it or care about it, especially the higher up you get on the org chart. So reality is no, you really can't take a work free vacation, if you're in some hugely unimportant technology related fields. But...once you've become seasoned at your job, you find ways to respond subtly to make it seem like you care and are "working on something" but you're on the golf course or at Disney, or deep sea fishing, etc. and truthfully don't give a shit about the problem this person has but you prefer to not get hassled about it. it's part art, part science, but it really helps keep the shit off your back.

+1

I died at work 12 years ago. Most the people on here know the story.

Short story is I went into cardiac arrest after commanding a multi unit involved condo 10 minutes after getting on duty.

Later the afternoon I went into cardiac arrest. 8 weeks later I was back on the job.

Moral of the story?

Always have everyone trained so that if you were unavailable in the next second and everything would continue as if you never existed.

I understand that's a big blow to the ego/self esteem.

when you receive 60 to 100 emails daily its hard to ignore, much less relax

is marked urgent and everything is needed ASAP. Maybe it's just my company but there's no way I'm doing work while on vacation. Someone will be set up as a back up while I am out and and that's how it should be. There's nothing any of us here do that's that important, outside of medical professionals who have back ups all the time for vacation.

The world we live in enables working on vacation due to technology and I say fuck that.

In comment 13046129 Beer Man said:

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when you receive 60 to 100 emails daily its hard to ignore, much less relax

Really?

So if you dropped dead in the next 2 minutes the world would come to an end?

I think not.

In comment 13046132 UConn4523 said:

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is marked urgent and everything is needed ASAP. Maybe it's just my company but there's no way I'm doing work while on vacation. Someone will be set up as a back up while I am out and and that's how it should be. There's nothing any of us here do that's that important, outside of medical professionals who have back ups all the time for vacation. The world we live in enables working on vacation due to technology and I say fuck that.

^^^^
This

it's about remaining employed. gainfully employed. and even advancing your career.

no one wants anyone to really know how expendable they are.

especially in technology where there is more dead weight than maybe any other industry.

I work for a company of almost half a million people, my guess is 50k are responsible for 80% of the revenue, the rest...dead weight.

You don't want to get thought of as part of the dead weight. If you can master the art of actually not doing much at work but somehow being regarded as a high performer and a critical employee you've accomplished a lot career-wise and you have a future in management.

everybody checks it periodically on vacation. Some people are even surprised I am talking about not doing it at all.

"You don't want to get thought of as part of the dead weight. If you can master the art of actually not doing much at work but somehow being regarded as a high performer and a critical employee you've accomplished a lot career-wise and you have a future in management."

How about being a high performer and being an example of hard work for your company?

Guess that is a lost art?

You didn't answer the question about if you were gone tomorrow?

Unless you don't care about training those under you..

In comment 13046148 ctc in ftmyers said:

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"You don't want to get thought of as part of the dead weight. If you can master the art of actually not doing much at work but somehow being regarded as a high performer and a critical employee you've accomplished a lot career-wise and you have a future in management." How about being a high performer and being an example of hard work for your company? Guess that is a lost art? You didn't answer the question about if you were gone tomorrow? Unless you don't care about training those under you..

If I were gone tomorrow they might not know at work for months. maybe even longer. I could be like the guy in Office Space with the stapler who gets paid due to a glitch and no one realizes it. I could probably realistically get a second job.

If you haven't worked in tech you don't know what I'm talking about, especially for a giant, primarily home-based, company.

Tesco or Compass this is indeed a small world.

a company who nobody knows who you are and wouldn't miss you for months if you dropped dead unless a problem arose?

But you still need to check your emails, Not someone else?

Glad I am retired.

In comment 13046158 ctc in ftmyers said:

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a company who nobody knows who you are and wouldn't miss you for months if you dropped dead unless a problem arose? But you still need to check your emails, Not someone else? Glad I am retired.

Hard to explain, if you haven't been here in this field.

In comment 13046156 B in ALB said:

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Tesco or Compass this is indeed a small world.

no, similar size though. different field. pure tech. American company, but global.

just adding my perspective, and in some fields it's not really feasible or in your best interest to cut the work email cord for a variety of reasons.

if you can pull it off though, do it.

In comment 13046159 pjcas18 said:

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In comment 13046158 ctc in ftmyers said: Quote: a company who nobody knows who you are and wouldn't miss you for months if you dropped dead unless a problem arose? But you still need to check your emails, Not someone else? Glad I am retired. Hard to explain, if you haven't been here in this field.

PJ, you know I'm a fan.

Good luck brother and nothing but the best you and yours.

Your right, I can't imagine.

put that you'll have limited access to internet

1. get a work-only laptop
2. get a work-only phone
3. unlink any work accounts from personal devices

hopefully your company can accommodate the first 2

Too high a price to pay when I get back.

but it's not a big deal either. I check on my phone occasionally and if needed I get the laptop out.

In comment 13046163 pjcas18 said:

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just adding my perspective, and in some fields it's not really feasible or in your best interest to cut the work email cord for a variety of reasons. if you can pull it off though, do it.

I can and will. I was really just curious what others experiences have been. I had already made up my mind before starting the thread. I am not the least bit surprised that the responses cover the whole range.

I started a new job fairly recently...4 months...informed them of my vacation beforehand. While I'm always very willing to go above and beyond with work, I've firmly decided that spending a full week with my kids without work/school/camp/daycare overrides everything work-related. Clients will live. I will set appropriate/thorough out of office email + phone messages, and if I check my email once, I will be thoroughly ashamed of myself.

As the CFO succinctly put it at a previous company when a key employee left, "well, you know what they say, cemeteries are full of 'irreplaceable' people."

It stayed with me. My time with my kids matters; nothing else comes close.

I have a key guy who told me he wasn't taking his computer or checking messages while on vacation last fall. In our line of work, that places a huge burden on the team and potentially impacts our customers. If things slowed down and I had to make cuts he's the the first to go. It's reality today in some businesses.

Checking email occasionally doesn't need to impact time with the kids

In comment 13046202 AP in Halfmoon said:

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Checking email occasionally doesn't need to impact time with the kids

I don't disagree in general AP, but in my current role, one email will undoubtedly lead me down a wormhole of calls/emails/false urgency. I'll spare you the details. I certainly don't mean to speak generally, I just meant to speak for me. My apologies if I came across as prescribing advice /judgement for anyone other than me. This is something I struggle with, so I offered up my own conclusion as it may possibly help someone else.

I know people, in accounting for example, where it's not critical. I also know about the wormhole. It's a balancing act.

In comment 13046198 AP in Halfmoon said:

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I have a key guy who told me he wasn't taking his computer or checking messages while on vacation last fall. In our line of work, that places a huge burden on the team and potentially impacts our customers. If things slowed down and I had to make cuts he's the the first to go. It's reality today in some businesses.

I am sure it's an issue in some places. Fortunately, nobody has to (or can) do any of my work when I am out, and I don't have to worry about job security.

Now I bust my ass before and after vacation but I completely unplug and I love it - I try to avoid checking my phone period work, news social media

If any team can't properly manage another team member being out, then it is a poorly run team. Its what I like to call the ROBAB Scenario, you have to ensure that the team can survive anyone getting Run Over By A Bus.

The only time I felt forced to check emails on vacation was when I was job hunting. I will check in on Slack when I'm out, but mostly to participate in the BS/fun rooms we have at work. I've got to keep up with the latest news posted in #pokemon.

I have out of office messages with who to contact when I am away. With my job vacation is ruined pretty quick if I start checking calls or emails. Just completely unplug and don't think about it.