Why Do We Still Work While on Vacation?

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A few weeks ago, I was on a work call where we were discussing the topic of well-being at work. Specifically, how organisations need to better measure well-being to prevent burnout, which negatively impacts productivity and health. It was ironic when, on this call, one of my colleagues admitted that they were on holiday with their family (in Disneyland of all places) and nonetheless took the 30-minute call because they felt it was important. My perspective? It wasn’t that important and they could have easily sent a delegate.

As many employees make plans to enjoy the summer holiday season, it’s possible we will see this behaviour repeated. In fact, research has found nearly half (49 percent) of American workers work at least one hour per day while on vacation, with 24 percent working three or more hours per day (!).

What drives this hesitancy to disconnect and take time off? After all, recovery time from work is essential to enable humans to maintain high productivity and efficiency levels. Is it a sign of healthy commitment to the job? What other factors are at play?

These questions centre on the difference between work engagement and workaholism. Work engagement is a healthy, positive state, sometimes described as "flow", when you lose track of time because you are so immersed in a task. The important thing about work engagement is that it creates energy, and so is sustainable. Workaholism comes from a place of pressure (self-imposed as well as external) and depletes our energy reserves, which, if left for too long, eventually leads to burnout.

Why do people do it? Workload is a huge factor, but workload in and of itself does not lead to workaholism. According to academic research on the topic, here are six factors that can drive the feeling of always needing to work:

• The person’s self-esteem is reliant on work. If a person derives their self-worth from what they accomplish, rather than an inherent sense, they are at greater risk of workaholism. This is a deep core belief, meaning that in many cases a person may not be aware of it.
• The person imposes tough rules on themselves as to how much is enough. This may also be someone who sets very high-performance standards for themselves. Again, this is a deep-seated belief that may not be explicitly understood. Research has found that this can turn into a vicious cycle, where working excessively still doesn’t feel like it’s enough. Perfectionism is a manifestation of this.
• The person may overly identify with the company. Obviously, feeling connected to and aligned with a company is a healthy thing, cultivating a sense of belonging and meaning in our work. However, research has shown that you can have too much of a good thing. Over-identification with the company is where this can turn into a harmful dependency or an unhealthy sense of obligation.
• Professional norms in the company. Some organisations are explicit in their expectation that work should come first and private life second. There is also evidence to show managers make unconscious performance inferences based on how much they see their employees working, making this an implicit expectation as well.
• Upbringing and family background. Children internalise the norms and values they were brought up with, as well as any expectations for achievement imposed on them by family members. It’s natural to expect that these might manifest themselves at work. Schooling might play a role in this as well.
• National cultural norms. Similarly to the above, attitudes towards work are also part of our national identity. Some nations place a different value on work compared to individual well-being, and that feeds into people’s values.

How can we break this habit of working while on holiday?

1. We have agency. Research has shown that, ultimately, it is the individual who will define whether they work excessively or not. Even if we are in a time period where work feels excessively busy or hard (or not worth the energy), we have the ability to make a change if wanted.
2. Build new habits and stick to them. Is it possible that we are defaulting to ways of working that rely on us being available or present? For example, being on a call when someone else could cover it, or answering that email straight away when it can wait a few days.
3. Define objective objectives. When defining OKRs, push for objective output measures that don’t place emphasis on the number of hours needed to work, for example, the number of projects completed.
4. Plan to take time off. When planning for a holiday, we can invest time in preparing deliverables, so we can switch off. Create a detailed handover plan, give accountability for certain tasks to someone on the team, line up the manager to support, and set all communication channels to clearly and politely say: "Unavailable".

Taking time off is important. Not only is it critical to replenish intrinsic motivation (which is the source of more brilliant work), but it also encourages better planning and coordination between teammates. We owe it to ourselves to show up as our best to our employer and that means giving ourselves the space to detach.