Should you check your work emails while on holiday?
Should you go offline completely during the holidays – or check your work emails regularly? Lorin Sch?ni and Nina Indina discuss this in the latest issue of? the ETH ‘life’ magazine. What is your opinion? Join the discussion by posting a comment.
For
Lorin Sch?ni, Doctoral student and AVETH Politics Coordinator
Of course it’s good to take a break, and rest is important. And yes, the world will keep turning even if you stop looking at your emails for five days.
But when it comes to the day-to-day aspects of scientific work, switching off doesn’t always work. Deadlines are rarely calendar-friendly, international projects don’t take a break for the summer, and important decisions will be made even if you’re sitting by the sea or enjoying the view from a mountain peak.
It’s something I’m very aware of as a doctoral student. Between projects, supervision, conferences and writing papers, there are hardly any times when things go completely quiet. Work is often international and asynchronous, which means that working times and holiday times can rarely be separated cleanly from each other.
“Important decisions will be made even if you’re sitting by the sea or enjoying the view from a mountain peak.”Lorin Sch?ni
Something that helps me is checking my emails quickly during my holiday. It gives me structure and peace of mind and means I feel more relaxed about returning to work. Nothing stresses me out more than an overflowing inbox, uncertainty about what hasn’t been done, or unexpected developments in my absence.
By deciding to remain available at certain times on your holiday, you can stay on top of things in such situations – enabling smoother collaboration within the team. Flexibility is not a sign of self-abandonment, it is a strategic way of handling responsibility.
Of course this availability must not become an expectation – and certainly not the norm. It takes awareness, clear boundaries and confidence that you are genuinely allowed to be offline. Managers play a key role here in particular: it is incredibly helpful to have a general understanding that being available in your free time is not required or desired. Managers who actively support such boundaries are really giving their employees space and time to relax.
At the same time, this approach doesn’t work for everyone – and nor should it. Everyone perceives stress in different ways and has different needs in terms of rest and relaxation. An approach that eases the burden for one person may result in additional stress for another.
We should think of rest and relaxation in less absolute terms. For me, a relaxing holiday doesn’t mean shutting everything out; it’s about deciding when I am available and how. Taking control in this way is a positive thing as far as I’m concerned.
Against
Nina Indina, Engineering and Systems employee
It is 6 a.m. on Monday. I’m writing this by hand before recording a voice note and sending it to my computer for further editing. Our day-to-day work is fast-paced, characterised by digital tools, and requires concentration. Computer scientist and author Cal Newport refers to a “hyperactive hive mind” – a state of constant digital interruptions in the form of emails and social media notifications which disrupt our attention and make it impossible to focus on work.
Conscious media consumption is important in our free time and holiday time too. For me, the rule is no emails on holiday. Even if I just open my inbox quickly, in next to no time I will be immersed in a presentation that occupies my time and attention.
In the holidays, I want to recuperate and let go. I want to use the opportunity to be more aware of my media consumption and resist the urge to fill every moment with an activity. Holidays are my time to replenish my resources, recalibrate my value system and rediscover things that are really important to me. I want to invest the time consciously and pause for a while.
“When I am on holiday, I want to recuperate and let go. I want to use the opportunity to be more aware of my media consumption.”Nina Indina
In today’s society, which often prioritises the individual over the collective, I consciously seek out community in my downtime and want to share my time with my partner, friends and family. I want to prioritise thoughtfulness over being busy and read a book or two that will open up new perspectives for me. I also like to connect more with nature during the holidays – I like to rise with the sun and feel it as it sets. I like to be aware of the new moon and, when I’m by the sea, the tides. The only way I can do this is by leaving the digital world behind and engaging fully with the present moment.
This article appeared in issue 4/2024 of the employee magazine ‘life’.
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