As technology becomes more pervasive in our every day lives, it can sometimes feel impossible to truly escape from your office, emails, phone calls, and your boss.<\/p>\n
However you’re definitely not alone in this feeling – a new British Airways survey has found that most breadwinners only feel they\u2019re out of their boss\u2019s reach when they travel at least 1,600km from the office.<\/p>\n
Sue Petrie, British Airways\u2019 commercial Manager for Southern Africa, says that while the survey was conducted in the UK, it\u2019s safe to suggest that breadwinners in other countries feel similar pressures.<\/p>\n
“Access to digital media means that potentially anyone, anywhere can have access to their office, clients, colleagues and suppliers. While that can make your business competitive and efficient, it can also make it hard to switch off, even when you\u2019ve earned a break. That can be frustrating,” she said.<\/p>\n
“You can, of course, head as far as you possibly can away from the office physically: the furthest airport from Cape Town, Durban and Joburg is Honolulu in Hawaii<\/strong>. It\u2019s the antipode, the furthest destination from a given point on Earth; it\u2019s nearly 30 hours of flying.”<\/p>\n However she notes that it may not be feasible (or necessary) to make such a long trip, and there are a number of steps that you can take while still at home to ensure that you are not disturbed by the office.<\/p>\n She outlined four of her best tips below:<\/p>\n Schedule your withdrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n If you have tasks to delegate to colleagues, it may be useful to set aside time for a handover meeting with all relevant contact details and information, said\u00a0Petrie.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s a sad fact of working life that some co-workers find it easier to disrupt your breakfast on the hotel patio than to read the information you sent them that would answer their questions. So, while it\u2019s good to send your team all the intricate detail they might need, some team leaders find it useful to create a document for colleagues titled, \u201cRead this before contacting me,\u201d similar to the FAQs (frequently asked questions on a website).”<\/p>\n Make a date<\/strong><\/p>\n Not all teams need to have this spelled out in such detail, but it may be useful to let everyone know which is your last day at the office, she said.<\/p>\n “Try setting aside that day to have final briefings with to-do lists for all concerned. In effect you\u2019re saying, \u201cAre there any questions?\u201d before you leave. That\u2019s also the day to set up your Out of Office notice on Outlook, along with the names and numbers of who to contact.”<\/p>\n Set up feedback:<\/strong><\/p>\n “Many of us work while on holiday because we dread returning to a pile of work, or to tasks that need redoing because of halfhearted, distracted or overworked colleagues,” said Petrie.<\/p>\n “Scheduling some time on your return to get an update on what happened while you were away will help you to get up to speed quickly. It may also encourage colleagues to whom you\u2019ve delegated work, to in fact do the work rather than explain why they haven\u2019t.”<\/p>\n Double up or go silent<\/strong><\/p>\n Petrie notes that some businesspeople find it useful to have two mobile devices when on holiday.<\/p>\n “The idea is to use one for business, which is only switched on for a few minutes each day, while the other is used for holiday-related activities like GPSing, playing music or hailing rides. If that\u2019s all too much effort, simply leaving your work device switched off or for the truly brave \u2013 at home \u2013 can feel truly liberating,” she said.<\/p>\n
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