[crftr]

> Sometimes you just need to step away from the grind.

Was your work routed to someone else during your time off?

I would truly like to step away and relax. But the last time I tried to step away, I couldn't stop ruminating over all the unfinished work in my queue. My hunch is that it's not possible to truly relax unless someone else can temporarily step-in for the vacationer. Otherwise, on return, we're just greeted with an even-larger pile of work.

[hudsonjr]

I'm at a constant balance of 2 months of vacation because it's actually stressful to take more time off. Typically I stay up way too late before/after vacation trying to get everything done.

I've also noticed unnecessary urgency/escalation when someone is not in the office to deal with things. Say it's a Friday and I am in the office, but I am in back to back meetings and then have time blocked off to meet a deadline. Someone asks me to help on something semi-urgent, but they see I am booked, and they are generally OK with waiting, even if it delays until Monday. However,if they see a Friday OOO/vacation message in e-mail/slack, urgency is automatically ratcheted up and they want it done now.

I think there must be some psychological factors involved. It's OK if someone is technically "available" but does not have time. However if someone is takes a day off and is "unavailable" and there is wait..that is less acceptable.

[k4ch0w]

I made sure to wrap up my work before I left. I sympathize with you on that one but there is always more work to be done. You shouldn't need to work to catch up when you're back. You'll catch up as your time permits but don't sacrifice your personal health for a job.