Asking for a friend, what are the guidelines for working on vacation when it’s a staycation? Please provide input on this. What’s your opinion? I see two options. One, you don’t work at all and potentially return to a confusing avalanche of emails, meetings, and happenings that will require one to two days to dig out from under. Two, there is an amount of time dedicated each day to take care of email triage and clean-up. The daily time could be time-boxed, but depending on personal demeanor, the time could end up being longer than desired.

I’m a supporter of option one for two reasons (I can only think in pairs apparently).

1. The main reason for corporately-allotted vacation days as a benefit is to get away from the office and associated responsibilities outside of normal weekend days off. Merriam-Webster supports this philosophy with the following definitions of “vacation”:
   • A period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation
   • A period of exemption from work granted to an employee
   • A respite or a time of respite from something

   So as the gospel of English language definition states, vacations should mean the cessation of employed activities, at least from the employer granting vacation. Ideally, vacation time would be spent partaking in pleasurable activities. Even if vacation does not include “leisure time”, it’s a good opportunity to decompress and leave the stressors of the professional world on the sideline.

2. Work-life balance is important. Personal attention is important. People can be motivated, driven, ambitious, however you want to label it, and still have a need to get away to focus on the rest of the world. I wish I could say my job is my passion, but I cannot. There are numerous other endeavors I enjoy outside the office that, frankly, don’t receive enough dedicated time. I don’t know how people with careers, spouses, and kids have time to embrace any personal passions without carving time in the calendar for it. It’s almost as though a little selfishness is needed.

For the other option, if you spend time each day looking at emails or interacting with work in some way, you never truly disconnect and potentially set a precedent that you’re accessible at all times. The world demands a lot, and people only have so much of themselves to pass around. Sometimes, it feels as though those that life chews up need to push back now and again.