Why People Do Not Take Vacations Away from Work

In this episode, we dive into why people are afraid to take a vacation from work (in a non-pandemic world) and ways to navigate the fear.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Hey, folks, in this episode of Mahogany speaks to you,
We're going to dive into reasons why people don't take
time away from work? Why do we not take vacations?
Before we get started, For my people watching this on YouTube,
please take a moment to like the video, subscribe to
the channel, and hit that notification bell so that you

(00:44):
can receive notification each time I upload a new video.
So tell me, do you have one hundred reasons why
you're not taking time away from work? Believe it or not,
there are dozens of reasons why we fail to take
a vacation each year. Now listen, I get it. Normally
we're not swimming in neck deep in a panorama type

(01:05):
of event, and I won't say the phrase you know
exactly what I'm talking about, But even with the panorama
in place, it should be known that everyone deserves to
take a vacation from time to time. You know, money,
We know that money can be a showstopper for reasons
why folks don't journey away from their home. However, there
is no need to break them bank to carve out

(01:28):
the time you need to recuperate. So if it's not
about the money, why are people so slow to take
a vacation. So in this video, we're going to outline
five basic reasons why people sometimes fail to take a vacation. So, first,

(01:48):
the feeling that something bad might happen while you're away
from work. You know, listen, folks, whether you're at the
top of the executive chain or the bottom of something good.
You know, if you're someone with multiple responsibilities in the workplace,
sometimes you feel obligated to ratch on your time away
from the workplace because you're afraid something terrible is going
to happen in your absence, and that feeling that something

(02:11):
terrible could go wrong will leave you feeling with you know,
it can leave you with this misguided notion that it
just might be easier not to take so much time
away from work and parcel your time out instead. The
feeling that something wrong will occur while out can be nagging,
and it can leave you with this misguided notion that

(02:32):
it might be easier for you to just ration your time,
you know, just parcel it out, as opposed to taking
one giant bulk of period of time away from work
at once. And you know, from meetings to deadlines to
process changes that you don't want to miss There's just
always some reason why you feel that you can't really
miss more than a day. So what can you do?

(02:56):
You know, if you're that person who's always worried that
something bad is going to happen while you're out of
the office, first try to stay aware of impending activities
and schedule your time away around those things. You know,
if it's not a feasible reality, pick your battle, meaning,
if there's always something going on, you're going to have
to pick and choose what it is you can afford

(03:18):
to miss, you know, and accept that, yes, there may
be some consequences good or bad, with you being out
of the office, but you're going to take that time
away and you know, take care of yourself. Is there
work that you can delegate to combat this anxiety? Right?
Is there someone that you work with that you can give,
give the task to, give the activity to so that

(03:40):
when you get back you can get a summary. You know,
look at it this way. If you died next week
or became so ill that you couldn't work for a
long period of time, would the world stop turning in
your workplace? Probably not. Therefore, pick the thing that you
can afford to miss. Next, the inability to trust others

(04:03):
to function well in your absence. If you are in
a manager type of role, the reality is that you
have to trust someone to function in your stead while
you are away from the office. That in and of
itself can prove to be a stressful and a deterring task. Right.
Who can you trust to step into your shoes for

(04:24):
a temporary time as a stand in while you're away
from the office. Can you trust that they're going to
have your back should something go wrong? Well? Will they
have the ability the critical thinking skills to discriminate between
what requires an immediate response versus what can wait until
you get back. Can this person be trusted not to

(04:44):
throw you under the bus intentionally or unintentionally to your
peers or your boss. Let's face it, you know, the
reality is things are going to come up while you're out,
you know, and if you're looking for someone to contact
you and something starts blowing up for guiding, can you
trust that this person is going to do that? Or
you know, do you feel that they're going to run

(05:07):
off to your coworker or your boss and you know,
perhaps perhaps release information that you don't want to necessarily
get out and about, and that's the reality. There are
jobs where sometimes we don't necessarily want our boss and
every little thing that we're doing, because that can create
a whole other fiasco. So the ability to leave someone

(05:28):
in charge for an extended period of time can be
a bill breaker, and we know that that can definitely
affect the reasons why you're not taking time away from work.
So it's going to be imperative that you find someone
that can cover for you while you're out of the office.
If it's not a coworker, then it may be a
subordinate And this is where the importance of succession planning

(05:49):
comes in. You know, one of the critical reasons why
we don't take a vacation from work is succession planning.
You don't have anyone who is ready to take over
should you get hit by the lottery bus tomorrow or
you know, you leave the job, who is going to
be there to step into your shoes. So the key
is for you to start grooming your stand in grooming

(06:12):
your replacement, and yes, your replacement. It does not mean
that tomorrow you're going to be fired because someone else
now knows how to do your job somewhat. You know,
you're just grooming this person, however, such that they can
either stand in for you or hey, should the day
come that you get promoted or the opportunity for promotion

(06:32):
comes up for you, this person can easily slide into
your job and there is no gap in coverage. If required,
you know, groom more than one person, or you know,
distribute the skill amongst your teams so that they can
cover for you in different ways. So another reason why
we sometimes fail to take a vacation is that our

(06:53):
boss infurs the need for us to be there. Perhaps
you plan for taking off, or you may be when
whisicle about requesting time off. You know, sometimes you know
we're we're planning, and we're we're like, hey, I think
I'm going to take two weeks off in a couple
of months. Or sometimes you just kind of have a
bad week or two and you're like, geez, I really
need to just take off tomorrow or the day after

(07:16):
tomorrow to get a bit of rest and relaxation. So
you present your request to your boss with your idea
of just getting away from the workplace. Unfortunately, sometimes you
just can't get that instant gratification of approval from your boss.
You know who you know is not recognizing the fact
that your time off is well deserved and very needed. Unfortunately,

(07:41):
you know, we will encounter people in the workplace who
are our leaders, who are not shy about inferring that
taking time away from work will not be convenient for
their plans or their upcoming events in the workplace. And
you know, unfortunately, it is these messages that can deter
us from taking time away to stay on our boss's

(08:02):
good side. So what can you do? How do you
get around this? In this instance, all you can do
is plan. Talk with your boss, educate them on your
plans and your inaccessibility for that time away to plan accordingly. Again,
the same scenario applies here. Do not avoid taking time
off just because you're afraid of what your boss may
say or do. Instead, collaborate with your boss to prioritize

(08:26):
what requires your attention and presence. You know, try to
get a sense of what's on their books, what's coming up.
Is there some major meeting that you're going to need
to be present for. If so, if you're still wanting
to take a vacation, is there a stand in Is
there a coworker that you can coach that can be
present in your absence. You know, if you would prefer

(08:46):
to be there, then get ready to be flexible about
your time off. But again, you know, make sure you're
planning for an alternative date. Another reason we don't take
off destination unknown. We have nowhere to go for vacation.
You know, not all of us are big travelers. You know,
not all of us are planning to go overseas to

(09:08):
another country or hit a cruise, or you know, we
don't have time shares or vacation homes, or we don't
always venture off to airbnbs. Right, so it can be
a bit challenging when you're not necessarily planning to go
somewhere to remember that you still should take time off,

(09:30):
So listen. You don't have to take an extended trip
to appreciate taking some time away from work. If you
are not looking to travel anywhere out of state, consider
taking a day trip somewhere planning a staycation. Staycations are
great sources of rejuvenation. You can use the time to
get things done around your home. There's probably a closet

(09:51):
somewhere that needs to be cleaned out. You've probably got
drawers that need clothing to be donated. Maybe you've been
wanting to work on a project with your kids around
the house, or just spend some quality time with the family.
These are great ways suspend your staycation going to the games,

(10:12):
going to the movie, shopping, or just relaxing. Take the
time off even if you don't have a destination. Finally,
the last reason we sometimes can fear taking time away
is the fear of needing to take time off later.
You know, and for a lot of us, the paid
time off bank is small, and I once had a

(10:37):
job where the sick time and the vacation time all
came from one bank. So sometimes we can be a
little slow about taking time away from work because we
worry about wanting or needing that time later due to
illness or injury. However, you should still, you know, be
strategic with your time off. You know, obviously, if you

(11:00):
care for others aside from yourself. You know, you may
have children, or you may have an aging parent in
the home that you care for, or someone else that
you're a caregiver for. Try to balance that with what
you might anticipate you might need to take off for them.
Of course, we can never anticipate viruses or anything else
along those lines. But you know you always want to

(11:22):
try to keep a reserve in your paid time off bank, right,
maybe you always try to maintain forty hours because that's
the words case scenario and for most workplaces that have
short term disability, that generally kicks in within one to
two weeks if you had to use it for you know,
extended leave out of the office, you know, for FMLA

(11:45):
or anything along those lines. So you know, be strategic
with your time. Don't let the fear of needing to
take time off later stop you from taking a vacation.
You know, time off is essential to our physical and
to wellbeing. And while there will always be an occasion
that prevents us from getting out of the office or

(12:06):
getting away from our job as is desired, we should
not abandon our cause for vacation time. Vacations are crucial
for our mental and physical wellbeing. For more stories and
tips such as the topic we've just discussed, please visit
mahogganispec you dot com, where we need touch on career

(12:29):
health and wellness and macual hair care and general pop
culture topics. Take care and stay safe.