So Where is the 4 Hour Workweek?

So just how indispensable do you think you are at work? Do you plan to take some vacation time this summer?

If the same numbers apply south of the border as they do here in Canada, according to two recent surveys by Monster.ca it would appear a high number of us feel we cannot even leave work to take a vacation - let alone need to stay connected if we do take a break.

In the first it was found that almost 1 in 5 workers (19%) will not be taking a vacation this summer because they do not want to come back to a nightmare workload. A further 16% will only be taking partial vacation - saying the 'guilt' of leaving work behind is too much.

64% of Canadians will be taking time off however, but according to the 2nd survey by Monster.ca - 37% say they will be using technology to check in with work periodically.

Some people pride themsleves on being available 24/7, I know a lawyer that reflects that as part of their personal brand on thier voicemail and although I have to admit that I will be one of those 37% over the next two weeks, whilst travelling around Ontario the laptop will be connected on occasion and cell phone will be on, I will be taking a leaf out of the 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, the notes have already gone out saying I am away, e-mail will be on auto respond and voicemail will reflect my absence.

So what about you - are you switching off completely or checking out occasionally but staying switched on?

Cross posted on Reflections of a Square Peg

Comments

[Rebecca Thorman]

Over at morethanaliving.com/blog they recently talked about making yourself obsolete that speaks a lot to this idea. No one should be indispensable. If that's true, you're not doing your job well enough.

[Julianne]

I just returned from a one week vacation to over 200 emails. My plan had been to check my emails while I was on vacation but the beach house where I was staying didn't cooperate. The Internet was down and nothing we tried got it working. I was amazed at how stressed out I became over it; and it struck me as to what an ingrained habit it had become to constantly check my email. But the good news is, I was forced to take a total break from my emails and that really made a difference in how I felt both during my vacation and when I returned. Even though it took me a few days to catch up, the break was worth it. I wouldn't have had the chance to experience it if the technology had not been down, a good thing for once!