The month of July marks the beginning of the second semester and the traditional school holidays. Because of this, a large portion of professionals takes the opportunity to take a well-deserved break. However, a common and extremely dangerous practice persists: influenced by the "Fear of Switching Off" (FOSO), or "fear of disconnecting", many workers remain plugged into work during vacation
Predominant among digital natives, the FOSO manifests in employees who, even on vacation, remain available for remote conversations and, sometimes, they perform tasks and participate in meetings. The mistaken belief is that a disconnection for several days would hinder the progress of demands and increase the pressure upon return
"I believe that this behavior is one of the legacies of the pandemic", when the boundaries between personal and professional life have practically disappeared. Many professionals had meals while working, they scheduled the time and took pending matters to the weekend. The impacts of this excessive work are already well knownburnout, anxiety, insomnia, depression, alert Maria Sartori, associate director of Robert Half
The consequences of FOSO can be disastrous
The medium and long-term effects of this difficulty in disconnecting tend to be disastrous and are associated with a decline in productivity, lack of disposition, bad humor, among other physical and psychological harms. Ensuring a total rest period is important to recharge batteries and ensure that mental and physical health remains in order for delivering good results
The example must come from leadership
It is essential that companies do not view connected vacations as a tolerable or desirable behavior. An organizational culture that respects and values rest, the health and quality of life of workers encourages attitudes in this direction
"Leaders must set a good example". If they disconnect during the holidays, it is likely that your teams will follow the same path. Defining expectations regarding the period and sharing this information with the rest of the team is advisable. It is clear that the rule is to stay offline, everyone will feel safe to disconnect, comments the director of Robert Half
Another important measure is the organization and delegation of responsibilities during absences, what helps both to avoid overload and failures and to encourage that absolute rest is seen as something positive, since the teammates will provide support
How to deal with the return in a lighter way
It is normal that, upon returning from vacation, the professionals need a few days to get back into the work rhythm again. To the managers, it is interesting to promote a relaxed chat about how the break period was, planning the next steps
Furthermore, to update the professional on what happened during their absence and involve them in ongoing activities and projects, it is advisable to gather the entire team
Medium and long-term losses of “Fear of Switching Off”
