Another Reason to FIRE

[audreyh1]

Is going on vacation becoming too much work?

Only 9 more years to go....

I definitely had this problem the last few years working. I was too tired to really plan anything fun. And really, that tired you just want to stay home and read a book anyway. It's tough when you need to take vacation days just to catch up with house issues.

Heck - I'm going on "vacation" soon. And with all the travel planning involved I'm glad I'm retired so that I could put in all the time researching, etc.

 

[audreyh1]

When I was employed I was repeatedly offered a "free" cell phone, which would have been paid for by the firm. I always declined, much to the surprise and wonder of younger co-workers. The last thing I wanted was to be constantly on call.

Me too. I couldn't stand even having a pager. And back then a work cellphone was a "new" thing. Now I imagine people can't get away from work cellphones. Horrible!

 

[38Chevy454]

Electronic leash started with pagers, then progressed to cell phones and laptops, currently smart phones and tablets.

I agree with the rest that when I am on vacation, I am out of touch. For that matter, when workday is done, my current job has no real need for after hours.

One of my old co-workers compared going on vacation to an assembly line. For the line workers, there is a replacement that covers your spot. For salary or mgmt, you have to build ahead and then catch up when you get back. There is no replacement for the work that goes on when you are away.

 

[jjquantz]

Electronic leash started with pagers, then progressed to cell phones and laptops, currently smart phones and tablets.

I agree with the rest that when I am on vacation, I am out of touch. For that matter, when workday is done, my current job has no real need for after hours.

...

This is what is particularly frustrating. As I would tell my program manager, "we are not saving lives here". There are NO TASKS that can't wait until the next morning. That doesn't stop my current boss from sending emails time stamped 11:00 PM on Saturday, from her car, when she is on vacation in Europe, etc. Even though there is no reason for it, the ability to do this seems to generate some need to stay involved. I don't get it now and never did.

I keep reminding myself, just 4 more days...

 

[M Paquette]

This is what is particularly frustrating. As I would tell my program manager, "we are not saving lives here". There are NO TASKS that can't wait until the next morning. That doesn't stop my current boss from sending emails time stamped 11:00 PM on Saturday, from her car, when she is on vacation in Europe, etc. Even though there is no reason for it, the ability to do this seems to generate some need to stay involved. I don't get it now and never did.

I suspect that this is one of the symptoms of 'imposter syndrome'. They're afraid that if they aren't involved constantly that someone may notice. Worse, someone may notice and realize the world didn't stop spinning because the boss is out. Worst of all, someone might figure out that the boss isn't necessary for day-to-day functioning of the business.

Yes, we all know that the boss can step out for a bit and the rest of us can pick up the slack for the office routine and keep things running. Still, there's that little nagging voice in the back of the mind suggesting that "Hey, maybe you ain't necessary. They're getting stuff done without you." That little bit of self-doubt can ruin a vacation for everyone.

Could be worse. Could be a classic Dunning-Kruger effect boss. They are best seen from a distance.

 

[audreyh1]

Honestly, people have the same reaction when they go on vacation and can't get "the news". I remember people on a cruise boat in Alaska being distressed because they couldn't watch CNN and find out "what is going on".

I'm like - you are on vacation! Why do you have to know "what is going on" in the outside world? It doesn't matter right now! You can wait to find out when you get back.

But I was always impressed by how widespread this type of behavior was.

I think they've just been brainwashed by the media to believe that they have to be "plugged in" all the time. Just like bosses can pressure employees to be reachable at all times.

I think once people get used to being disconnected, they find they like it real well and resent the attempts by media/work culture to draw you in 24/7.

I like being unplugged. I don't find out about some national events sometimes until 4 or 5 days later, and someone happens to mentioned something that ends up in my Facebook feed. Fine with me! That's soon enough.

 

[jjquantz]

Honestly, people have the same reaction when they go on vacation and can't get "the news". I remember people on a cruise boat in Alaska being distressed because they couldn't watch CNN and find out "what is going on".

I'm like - you are on vacation! Why do you have to know "what is going on" in the outside world? It doesn't matter right now! You can wait to find out when you get back.

But I was always impressed by how widespread this type of behavior was.

I think they've just been brainwashed by the media to believe that they have to be "plugged in" all the time. Just like bosses can pressure employees to be reachable at all times.

I think once people get used to being disconnected, they find they like it real well and resent the attempts by media/work culture to draw you in 24/7.

I like being unplugged. I don't find out about some national events sometimes until 4 or 5 days later, and someone happens to mentioned something that ends up in my Facebook feed. Fine with me! That's soon enough.

+1

For some reason the building manager just installed a TV in the elevator lobby tuned to some news channel. No one is there for more than 30 seconds, but people can't risk being away from a screen.

I vaguely remember a quote that went something like, "I never read a paper that's less than a week old." The idea being that anything that is important will have staying power and everything else is just noise.

 

[foxfirev5]

Over the last 10 years I have convinced quite a few people that Key West does not have cell or internet service. Also, any voice message that starts with "I know you're on vacation but..." is deleted and never answered. The Out of Office on Outlook covers the rest. It's all about managing expectations.
I've seen many people come and go with nobody being indispensable. Perhaps part of the burn out we see around here is due to not being able to shut it off and enjoy recreation and vacation.

 

[frayne]

.
I've seen many people come and go with nobody being indispensable. .

Pretty much says it all.

 

[W2R]

Grrr... what awful stories. Petty tyrants abound.

Yet another reason why retirement is great.

 

[Derslickmeister]

I have a way to hook up work email to my phone, but will never do so.

Smart move. I have to approve requests from my team members for email access on their phones. I make sure to let them know if I approve the request their lives will never be the same. Careful what you wish for...

 

[pb4uski]

When I was working and on vacation I would typically review emails, etc for an hour or so each morning (usually before the rest of the family was awake), respond to those I needed to respond to and ignore the remainder until I returned to work. It was a way I could keep up and not have a huge task of reviewing email ahead of me when I got back to work but still enjoy my vacation. It worked ok for me.

 

[Meadbh]

When I was working and on vacation I would typically review emails, etc for an hour or so each morning (usually before the rest of the family was awake), respond to those I needed to respond to and ignore the remainder until I returned to work. It was a way I could keep up and not have a huge task of reviewing email ahead of me when I got back to work but still enjoy my vacation. It worked ok for me.

Ditto.

 

[JoeWras]

Sadly, when our grandkids get their implants inserted in 2025, they will never be able to turn them off. Fortunately, those over 65 will be grandfathered and will not require implants.

They'll just be turned into soylent green.

 

[Sesq]

I usually have to take a call or two per week if I am on vacation. It comes with the salary / responsibilities. I am fine with it. My in-laws found the practice abhorrent. I see their point, but we took different paths, my f-i-l never worked past 5 PM and was focused on his kids. He is still working at 70. I work more now, but plan to work less later.

 

[CorporateSoldier]

I usually have to take a call or two per week if I am on vacation. It comes with the salary / responsibilities. I am fine with it. My in-laws found the practice abhorrent. I see their point, but we took different paths, my f-i-l never worked past 5 PM and was focused on his kids. He is still working at 70. I work more now, but plan to work less later.

Yep - well said. I try to limit the stuff on vacation as well but megacorp pays me very, very well. I am ok with a couple of interruptions to my vacation and a few evening and weekend emails/calls each week. My bonus last year was more than double the average US household income. For that, I will deal with my life being interrupted now and then.

 

[Milton]

Provision of continuous service is a business requirement and frequently a contractual one. In private practice, the host physician, who is usually a private contractor, underwrites the costs, resulting in a reduction in practice income. In many cases, the best that can be achieved is coverage of fixed costs (which usually amount to 30-40% of gross billings). In some areas, there are programs that facilitate the hiring of locus, but private physicians still undertake a significant financial cost to take a vacation.

You can read more detail about billing arrangements for locums in Canada on page 7 et seq. of this document: https://www.cma.ca/Assets/assets-li...-and-wellness/PS-11-00322_PMC_Module_11-e.pdf

Thanks for the link and information.

Sounds like the difficulty in taking vacations is nothing unique to medical practice and merely a reality that is shared by many (most?) other self-employed professionals and small business owners. Oh well, try to think of the tax advantages of such status!

 

[Milton]

Honestly, people have the same reaction when they go on vacation and can't get "the news". I remember people on a cruise boat in Alaska being distressed because they couldn't watch CNN and find out "what is going on"…. I think they've just been brainwashed by the media to believe that they have to be "plugged in" all the time.

Absolutely!

CNN is horribly guilty of announcing non-events - e.g., the mere possibility of yet another ceasefire in the recent Gaza conflict - as "breaking news" (sic). Presumably such hype sells soap.

 

[Rick_Head]

Two stories:

1) I has a colleague who took a move away from our location. We were work friends. One day (after I had ER'd) I sent him an email. He replied "i'm on the beach in Florida, but yada yada". I asked him why he even read an email on a beach. His response was similar to "I'm on call 24/7 now, even if the boss just wants a virtual BJ".

2) Seven years after I re'd, I'm on a European vacation. Every few days I find a wifi connection for email (after all, something bad may be happening to the kids and/or sibs). I get an email from former mega-corp boss asking if I can remember detail of something that happened 5 years before my RE. I replied saying I contact him when i was back, that would be about a week. I got a reply asking/demanding an immediate response. I wonder if he ever found out what I knew about it.

That's the reason I always rejected a "company cell-phone you can use for personal calls", it would have to be on.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Why on earth would former boss email you about anything, let alone something that happened 12 years prior? Heck, that's not water under the bridge, that's water that went out to sea, evaporated, and rained down somewhere.

And to demand an immediate answer? Heck, I wouldn't answer at all, ever.


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[2B]

Why on earth would former boss email you about anything, let alone something that happened 12 years prior? Heck, that's not water under the bridge, that's water that went out to sea, evaporated, and rained down somewhere.

And to demand an immediate answer? Heck, I wouldn't answer at all, ever.

Back in my earlier days I have been contacted by former bosses, former coworkers and sometime just people I don't know looking over some of my old work. I have contacted others. I never minded and I never ran into hostility from the contact.

I can't see me ever "demanding" anything. I'd laugh at anyone that got upset at me simply replying with "I'm on vacation and can't really focus on that now but I'll get back to you in a week when I get back." If they gave me grief over that. Then I agree with you to never repond again.

I've gotten some interesting insights into the goings on in some of my old groups. I'll get a chuckle out of which loser is now the department head and other such gossip. It's also a good networking opportunity. You never know when you might need a new job. Well, not anymore but....

 

[LoneAspen]

I get an email from former mega-corp boss asking if I can remember detail of something that happened 5 years before my RE. I replied saying I contact him when i was back, that would be about a week. I got a reply asking/demanding an immediate response.

He would have gotten a three word response from me: "Go f*** yourself"

 

[Bestwifeever]

He would have gotten a three word response from me: "Go f*** yourself"

Or an invoice for a highly paid hour of consulting

 

[REWahoo]

I get an email from former mega-corp boss asking if I can remember detail of something that happened 5 years before my RE.

In hindsight, a simple "no" would have been the best response.

 

[nuke_diver]

Or an invoice for a highly paid hour of consulting

Perfect