On coming back from vacation

For the 2 of you who actually follow this blog and wonder where the heck I was last week, well I have a legitimate excuse for dropping off the face of the blogosphere.

 

I was on vacation. Staring at a lake, enjoying nature, letting my brain rest and recuperate. 

And then I came back to work this week and went “why did I ever leave!”

And I mean that not as “Why did I ever leave the lake and the beautiful nature?!” – though that was part of it to be sure. No, it was more like “Why did I ever leave work in the first place?!” I hate the get-back-into-work-after-missing-a-full-week-you-didn’t-really-have-time-to-miss craze.

Somehow, all of the restorative powers of vacation to let you decompress, think about things other than your to do list, and read a trashy novel because you want to, vanish in an instant. Immediately the slightly-crazed look comes back in your eyes and you’re right back where you were before you left for vacation only MORE behind.

Working together (via stock.xchng)

Great. Awesome. Perfect.

I’ve realized that, in general, the American culture has a working problem. This has many facets. It’s our tendency in America to be work-a-holics. It’s the 60+  hour workweek when only getting paid (meagerly) for 40. It’s the lack of paid time off for new moms and dads to take care of their newborns (men are lucky to get 2 weeks, women are lucky to get 6 weeks in most places) or recently adopted child (you might get 2 weeks, even at some of the more progressive places of employment). It’s the curse of the modern world that basically demands that everyone have a smart phone just so that you can be working all the time. Even when you’re on vacation. It’s the crushing force of the recession which demands more work from fewer people resulting in working through lunch, coming in early, leaving late, and bringing work home on the weekends.

And for what?

So we can be burned-out, grumpy, unhealthy, non-productive members of society?

Great. Awesome. Perfect.

The more I hear about the European model of working, the more I like it. Though I realize it comes with it’s downsides (an average 46.1% income tax rate in Western Europe…OUCH), it also comes with some pretty nice perks. With anywhere between 25 and 40 paid vacation days a year, Europeans also tend to have shorter workweeks (between 25-38 hours per week). Yet a study from 2011 indicates that wealthier countries also tend to have higher rates of depression than less wealthy countries (Bromet et al., 2011). However, even within the defined wealthier countries, there were major differences. Germany, a country with notably higher paid vacation time, and generally fewer hours per week of work, the depression rates were reported at 9.9%. In the U.S. we’re at 19.2%.

Now clearly there are cultural differences in expression, understanding, and cultural acceptability of depression that may be leading to some of these differences. And then of course there are the economic reasons that could be contributing to these higher rates of depression in some places over others.

However, given how I feel after a 60 hour workweek, versus after a 25 hour one, I think there may be something to this idea that the amount of time spent working might be linked to depression.

So why do we work so much?

For some of us it’s driven by need.

For others it’s about passion.

Though these days, it seems to be a lot more about the former than the latter.

I wonder if there’s something to that. Whether the oppressive feeling of having no other choice but to work more hours harder, plagues more and more people across the world because of the world-wide recession and cultural shifts in priorities.

That’s pretty bleak, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it were true.

So what do we do?

Though you could probably picket your employer and demand more vacation time, I doubt that would be a highly effective way to make substantive changes to your happiness.

No, the changes I propose are more on an individual level. Because let’s face it, you control what you do everyday, at least to some extent.

These are just some coping strategies that I’ve come up with to handle those really insane days or weeks where it just feels like the to-do list is never-ending and life will not slow down. This is by no means comprehensive. It’s just my two cents, take ‘em or leave ‘em.

• Do one thing you enjoy everyday. This can be as simple as enjoying a cup of coffee on your way to work in the morning, or walking your dog when you get home. It could be playing with your kids, or just popping into your friend’s office just to say hi. Many of these things don’t take much time, or money. I’ve found much of life’s simple pleasures are that way. Free.
• Get some fresh air. Even if it’s the middle of winter, or pouring rain. Open a window. Stick your head outside. Breathe in. There’s something deeply restorative about fresh air, no matter how bitter cold or boiling hot.
•  Laugh. As often as you can. Watch a funny video on YouTube (I recommend these: 17 rants in 4 minutes; David after Dentist), read some jokes, laugh at a friend’s story, relive a funny moment from your holiday spent with your family.
• Exercise. This one is huge for me, but I know it’s less crucial for other people. I’ll just say that a walk around the block can clean out the cobwebs in my head, and going for a run keeps me from wanting to hit things. Try it. You might find you like it.
• Plan your next vacation – even if it’s imaginary. I do this every year in February. Because there is nothing worse than February in Minnesota (okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but really, February is horrible). When I Just. Can’t. Take. It. Anymore., I’ll look for cheap flights to exotic places, read up on the best travel locales, and spend a few minutes looking at pictures of pristine beaches. Somehow even visualizing a beautiful relaxing place brings my heart rate down a little when I’m feeling stir crazy.

Those are just a few things that I try to remind myself of when I’m feeling stressed. The last rule that I try very hard to heed (though it’s admittedly difficult):

When you’re on vacation, BE ON VACATION.

News flash: The chances of the world ending because you don’t check your email every day are very, very, VERY small.

Vacation is your time to be away. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT. Because with only 12-20 vacation days a year, in the U. S. at least, it’s your only chance to take advantage of that much needed time to unplug and reconnect with yourself apart from the demands of the work world. It will all be waiting for you when you get back. And despite the panic inducing feeling of never-ending catch-up, you’ll be better prepared to look at work in a new, refreshed way. Who knows, you might come up with something completely new because you allowed yourself to step away long enough to approach a problem from another angle.

And with that, I now resume the unavoidable vacation catch-up game…after a quick walk outside and that one hilarious YouTube video…