Member Article

The Great Escape: should you check your office emails on holiday?

Mick Keeble is head of Managed Services at Perfect Image – a North East-based IT services consultancy. Here he talks about whether you should check your emails while on holiday and how thanks to BYOD technology, the choice really is yours.

It’s that time of year again when (despite the recent heatwave) we compile our handover notes, turn on the out-of-office and bound out of the building. We rush home, throw our flip flops in a suit case and head to the airport ready to jet off to sunnier climes.

The first few days of your holiday are about total R&R – rest and relaxation. You spend your time lazing by a pool, taking a walk on the beach and of course, sampling the local tipple of choice. The office seems like a million miles away and you haven’t given that big project you’ve been working on a second thought.

That is, until, a few days in to your great escape, your body may be soaking up the sun but your mind is wandering back to the office.

You start to think about the deadlines that had to be met while you were away, whether or not that new business contract has been signed, and generally musing about how things are ticking over while you’re away. It’s not that you don’t have confidence in the capabilities of your team; it’s just that as a person who actually enjoys and cares about their job, you wonder how things are going in your absence.

Years ago, a holiday was a holiday, unless you were going to pop some Pesetas into the phone booth outside of your hotel and physically call the office to check in on things. Nowadays, we live in a connected society and have a mobile workstyle. Thanks to the introduction of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) technology, you can check in with the office anytime, anywhere – and that includes on holiday.

Of course, the question is should you be checking your emails on holiday? I’ll hold my hands up - I do look at my work emails while I’m away. Not that I’m checking in on the team, it’s more a case of keeping up-to-date with what’s going on while I’m away – especially if I’m on holiday for over a week as it’s a long time to be out of the office. For me, if I spot anything that needs flagging up I ping a quick note to the person responsible at Perfect Image, whereas for general info emails, I read them and then file them accordingly.

I find keeping on top of my inbox for half an hour so with a beer by the pool and tablet in hand while I’m away doesn’t ruin my holiday. In fact, dedicating that small amount of time to my work each day stops my mind wandering back to the office, meaning I enjoy my time away with friends and family more, without distraction.

It also means that my first day back at work isn’t a washout. Be honest, we’ve all been there; your first day back at your desk after a fortnight in the sun is usually spent catching up on emails, taking de-briefs from the team and generally getting accustomed to the (normally) grey British weather. While I can’t do much about the lack of summer in the UK, by keeping on top of my emails while I’m away, I’m already up-to-speed when I get back to the office. I can pick up exactly where I left off and because I’m energised after a worry-free holiday, my productivity levels are at their peak.

I’ve also heard about the technique of using an out-of-office message that tells people that their email won’t be read and they need to either re-send it when you get back or contact somebody else at the company in the meantime. I’m not sure I could bring myself to do this though.

So should you check your emails on holiday? Well, what works for me may not work for you. However, in our connected world and thanks to BYOD (remember the old Pesetas and phone box?), the technology is there making it easier than ever to stay connected – the barriers to long-distance communication while on the move have been broken down. So, whether you want to log-in while lying on a sun lounger in sunny Spain is totally up to you. The point is, unlike years ago, the option to check your emails is there for you to choose, and whatever you decide, have a great holiday!

To find out more about how Perfect Image can help your business implement and integrate BYOD technologies, visit: http://www.perfect-image.co.uk/

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Perfect Image .