Are you really out of the office?
Work is firm with its boundaries:
No personal activities on the clock.
Let’s be equally firm with ours:
No work activities off the clock.
Leaving the door into our personal life ajar, provides work with an invitation to creep in.
Here are 3 common places work can appear as an intruder:
Before your shift begins
After your shift ends
On vacation
It’s our responsibility to set clear expectations about what we will, and will not do, when taking a well-earned break from work.
When we pull up to a store after hours, we respect the “Sorry we are closed” sign and return when they’re open.
Our out-of-office email messages should operate with equal effectiveness.
When you’re done with work for the day:
“Thanks for your message. I’m enjoying an evening with family and will be back at my desk tomorrow morning at _________. If your request is an emergency, please call my cell at __________.
When you go on vacation:
“Thanks for your message. I’m away from the office and will check emails/voicemails upon my return on __________. If you need assistance before then, please reach out to__________.”
All it takes is one domino to start a movement.
Together, let’s give it a push.
