Time Off for Work
Sorry it's been so long since I posted something here. Unfortunately, I had to take two vacations in the past three months. And, along with the majority of my American colleagues in the workplace, I used those periods in the midst of the bright sunshine, soothing waves and windswept beaches to catch up on work.
A recent survey by CareerBuilder.com (for the expressed purpose of garnering attention from the news media and bloggers) reports that one in five Americans works while on vacation. It seems that we just can't get away from the office.
This finding makes me sad, and reaffirms my fear that we turn to work too often to find our identity. We define ourselves by the roles we play at work. As a result, we can't imagine being away from work, because it could possibly mean the loss of something dear to us - namely, us!
I wrote about this for the fine folks at FaithInTheWorkplace.com. That was two years ago, and, of course, the only change is that the problem has gotten worse.
But my job is to encourage you, so if you find yourself thinking that you can't take time off in what remains of the summer, because you may leave part of yourself at work, just stop. You are much more than your office, your computer, your assigned seat at the staff meeting, or your name embroidered on your shirt. You are a precious child of the most High God.
Now excuse me while I get back to work. The keyboard's been acting up ever since I dropped it in the sand.
A recent survey by CareerBuilder.com (for the expressed purpose of garnering attention from the news media and bloggers) reports that one in five Americans works while on vacation. It seems that we just can't get away from the office.
This finding makes me sad, and reaffirms my fear that we turn to work too often to find our identity. We define ourselves by the roles we play at work. As a result, we can't imagine being away from work, because it could possibly mean the loss of something dear to us - namely, us!
I wrote about this for the fine folks at FaithInTheWorkplace.com. That was two years ago, and, of course, the only change is that the problem has gotten worse.
But my job is to encourage you, so if you find yourself thinking that you can't take time off in what remains of the summer, because you may leave part of yourself at work, just stop. You are much more than your office, your computer, your assigned seat at the staff meeting, or your name embroidered on your shirt. You are a precious child of the most High God.
Now excuse me while I get back to work. The keyboard's been acting up ever since I dropped it in the sand.
posted by Tom Petersen at 8:41 PM
3 Comments:
"We define ourselves by the roles we play at work." That is so true.
Before I had kids, I embraced the role of teacher. It wasn't just my day job, it was my identity.
That became a real problem when I began to confuse advancement at work with personal growth. Especially because I had no way to advance as a teacher, unless I left teaching for administration!
Two years out of teaching has given me a much healthier perspective. Most likely I'll go back someday, and the time away will have made me a much better teacher.
Tom,
Boy does this hit home. For ten years I ran a web server and had web clients. I was a one-man show, so I had to keep my mobile phone with me even on vacation. And if there were server problems, goodbye vacation. That happened a couple of times. Probably lost one day of vacation every time.
I feel good to be past that, but the truth is, I still find it emotionally hard to let go and "vacate."
Not only is it our identity, but we're afraid of finding out that we're not actually needed. Someone else just might be able to do the job as well, or gasp, better than we could. We can't have that happening.
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