The flu bug finally hit me this year. Luckily it was only the 24 hour kind but I was so dog-tired from suffering through the night, I took the next day off (still running a low-grade fever). Spending some much needed time at home was nice but it also caused me to reflect on that issue many struggle with - taking days off of work.
It is a shame that many people work so hard for so long, all the while telling themselves they should take time off. Meanwhile, the body and mind are so taxed that eventually you are forced to slow down because illness sets in. I suffer from this problem. So instead of that much needed day-off being spent in the form of quality time with the family, you spend quality time with the Tylenol bottle and massive amounts of chicken soup.
What causes someone like me to ignore my own better judgment? In my case, it is a matter of knowing that the job keeps churning while I am away. The emails keep piling up, the to-do list keeps growing, and the work isn't going away. It's a daunting feeling that is frustrating, to say the least. I'll not go into the boring details of the challenges with my work, but (to make a long story short) I think the culture of the organization (for which you work) can have a great deal to do with your feelings about the capacity to take time off.
The next time fatigue sets in, it will still be a challenge for me to take that mental-health-day. However, I'm going to try and do a better job of listening to that little voice in my head that says "slow down."
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4 comments:
My supervisor at my last job said to me once, "the work was getting done before you came here. the work will get done after you leave here. so if you're sick or you need a vacation, go. we can handle the work while you’re away." It was both reassuring and disconcerting....to feel free to take time as I needed, but at the same time to feel utterly replaceable.
Hello dirty-d it is good to see that you got the rest that you so desperately needed. Love you long time, Q
Your doing a great job Dave. You might have inspired me to try this as well.
I do this all the time, and so do all my co-workers.
My boss asks me where I was yesterday afternoon, and I just tell him I needed to go to the movies and chill out. As long as clients are left hanging, and the work for the month and quarter are being done, no one cares.
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