Holiday V work email

SandC

I have no access to work emails outside of my work pc. I don't have a smart phone. I turn my phone off when I'm on holiday and use my tablet for any internet access I want.

My boss nor anyone else at work has my mobile number. They have emergency contact numbers in the form of my brother and my stepmum.

If I had my own business or was a Director then it would probably be different but then so would my salary. If I had my own company and could conduct business remotely then I would be spending lots of my year at holiday resorts dealing with stuff from a sunbed. :-)

In actual fact my boss, FD has only in the last year or so started checking emails on holiday because he didn't have access before. Think the novelty of that is wearing off anyway cos he's away at the moment and asked me to check them for him and delete 'all the crap'. Which is what I did last time as he was on a cruise and I thought he would struggle for access. He liked that idea a lot.

Pixie5740

tyllwyd wrote: »

I'd be really annoyed if I sent something and got an email to say it had been deleted - I wouldn't expect an answer if someone is on holiday, but if I've sent something it's done and crossed off my to-do list. If I got a message to say it's been deleted, I'd have to put it back on my list, make a note in my diary for the right date, and re-send it at a time when I'm busy doing something else. That makes all that extra work for me for the sake of you spending a morning scanning through your emails and catching up when you get back.

So people should sit and waste a morning sifting through a whole bunch of emails to save you the inconvenience of not crossing something off your to-do list and making a note in your diary?

If you're so busy that you don't have time to resend an email then you need to manage your time better. I recommend the "Priority Management" training course. It has been the only non-technical training course an employer has sent me on that was worthwhile.

Jagraf

Pixie5740 wrote: »

So people should sit and waste a morning sifting through a whole bunch of emails to save you the inconvenience of not crossing something off your to-do list and making a note in your diary?

If you're so busy that you don't have time to resend an email then you need to manage your time better. I recommend the "Priority Management" training course. It has been the only non-technical training course an employer has sent me on that was worthwhile.

I wouldn't bother sending it again I don't think, especially if I were a client. It may save you time and suit your business, but it would lose business in many environments. I can't think of a work environment where deleting (ie throwing way) someone's correspondence would be appropriate, even if its good for your time management. As a customer I would go elsewhere. So perhaps it works in certain lines of industry.

skintpaul

need to set up a delegate, to check / reply, while away!-

Also have an auto reply, advising you are not in office- give contact names/numbers of someone else that can help, if an emergency..

duchy

Some people like to think they are essential -others make sure there is a designated person to deal with anything that genuinely can't wait til they return -set up an out of office email and go on holiday and return refreshed and rejuvenated.

No-one ever said on their deathbed "I wish I'd spent more time in the office"

Is work *really* more important than spending quality time with your partner and family (if you have one) ?

Pixie5740

Jagraf wrote: »

I wouldn't bother sending it again I don't think, especially if I were a client. It may save you time and suit your business, but it would lose business in many environments. I can't think of a work environment where deleting (ie throwing way) someone's correspondence would be appropriate, even if its good for your time management. As a customer I would go elsewhere. So perhaps it works in certain lines of industry.

Did you miss the part where I said...

Pixie5740 wrote: »

I like to tie up loose ends before going on holiday and let clients know I'm away and who their point of contact is whilst I'm away.

In fact one client liked the set up so much (he told me so) and has adopted it himself.

Jagraf wrote: »

I suppose if you have your own company its different, which is our situation. It's about trusting others to be as vigilant as you, which is rare I suppose.

I think that if you can't trust your team or staff then they're the wrong team to have or need more training. Even as a company owner there's really no need to constantly be checking in whilst you're on holiday. It doesn't do much to bolster confidence or good feeling in the company if you don't trust people.

LilElvis

Pixie5740 wrote: »

So people should sit and waste a morning sifting through a whole bunch of emails to save you the inconvenience of not crossing something off your to-do list and making a note in your diary?

If you're so busy that you don't have time to resend an email then you need to manage your time better. I recommend the "Priority Management" training course. It has been the only non-technical training course an employer has sent me on that was worthwhile.

As a customer I wouldn't give a monkey's that auto-deleting e-mails was a more efficient use of your time. I would consider it incredibly rude that you deem your time to be of more value than mine. You would have to read the message in any case, but have chosen to inconvenience your customer unnecessarily.

Pixie5740

It's becoming more of an accepted practice to delete emails whilst away on holiday. I found a couple of articles from the BBC and The Telegraph.

If a client were to send something urgent are they really wanting to wait until I come back from my holiday until it's dealt with or are they going to send it to the person nominated as my point of contact whilst I'm away? Therefore meaning it doesn't matter if I have a copy of the email or not.

LilElvis

Pixie5740 wrote: »

I think that if you can't trust your team or staff then they're the wrong team to have or need more training. Even as a company owner there's really no need to constantly be checking in whilst you're on holiday. It doesn't do much to bolster confidence or good feeling in the company if you don't trust people.

Perhaps if or when you reach a senior management role you might understand that not all tasks can be delegated.

I've taken calls from board members whilst away - I could hardly tell the CEO to do one because my tan takes priority. I would call the office, speak to my team and arrange for them to deal with the issue. 5 minutes holiday time lost.

My husband has had to review and sign contracts, some of which had taken months and even years to get to that stage. He has also had to answer questions re bids because projects like the Olympics and Crossrail won't extend a deadline simply because someone is on holiday.

Dealing with a few calls or issues whilst away is no big deal. After all you probably wouldn't be sat on a sun lounger if you didn't have a job.

Pixie5740

LilElvis wrote: »

Perhaps if or when you reach a senior management role you might understand that not all tasks can be delegated.

How incredibly patronising. You don't know what I do or what position I have in the company.

If something were a matter of life and death then someone could/would phone me.

LilElvis wrote: »

I've taken calls from board members whilst away - I could hardly tell the CEO to do one because my tan takes priority. I would call the office, speak to my team and arrange for them to deal with the issue. 5 minutes holiday time lost.

It's a pity that you can't balance your work/life balance better. It's sad that you don't have a team who cannot function without you.

LilElvis wrote: »

My husband has had to review and sign contracts, some of which had taken months and even years to get to that stage. He has also had to answer questions re bids because projects like the Olympics and Crossrail won't extend a deadline simply because someone is on holiday.

Again this comes down to having a poor work life balance and not having the right team of people around you. You should be able to delegate and empower people so that they can cope without you for a fortnight.

LilElvis wrote: »

Dealing with a few calls or issues whilst away is no big deal. After all you probably wouldn't be sat on a sun lounger if you didn't have a job.

It is a big deal to me. My holidays are my time where I go to switch off from work. Then when I get back to the office I'm all fired up with new ideas ready to go again.

I doubt you and your husband are anywhere near as integral to the companies you work for as you seem to think you are, it just makes you feel important to think that people can't cope with out you.


I agree with Duchy's sentiments, who lies on their dead bed wishing they had spent more time in the office? I love my job and I really like the people I work with but I also enjoy switching off when I go on holiday.