You are on leave but you don't leave...

Does one not think about work while on leave ?

Does one stay completely with the reason for which leave is taken like taking a break or taking care of personal things ?

Does one feel guilty about thinking about work while on leave ?

These are some of the questions that most people today find themselves caught with when they take leave. They are on leave but don't leave the work.

This was not the same 10 to 15 years ago when people would not be interrupted both physically or mentally about work once they go on leave.  Possibly it was  because there were not so many smartphones, tablets, web conferencing and availability of internet everywhere. Infact during my recent trip to Hawaii I saw that Sheraton Hotel had a huge internet cafe for their guests right in the lobby with printing and teleconference facility. So besides our own smartphone and other devices the environment also pulling us to work.

If this is the situation then it may be worthwhile considering new work options while employees go on leave as per the recent Survey done by CISCO.

They found that employees would like to work from home for few days in summer by connecting few hours every day.  The Cisco study showed that it is a common tendency among workers to be in a conference or video call while on vacation (37 percent), at a professional function (34 percent) or while travelling in the car (27 percent).


Bringing in this flexiblity is creating mutual benefits as the technological tools now allow employees to go on holiday with peace of mind, while keeping an eye on the job and not feel guilty about not being on vacation and not being on work.

Many employees may not want a complete vacation away from work but would love options like casual dress code (35 percent), flexible time (26 percent), telecommuting or working from home (23 percent), early close hours on Fridays (16 percent) and reimbursement for mobile charges while on vacation.

However the HR policies of most of the companies today do not have the above components and I think it will be worthwhile to look at them given that it will help in productivity on one side and employee satisfaction on other side (When they are on leave they don't mind to not leave)

What do you think and especially if you are in HR function I would be keen to know your views and may be this can become a new year resolution on HR policy changes ?