All I want for Christmas...Is a day off

As work goes global, will holidays disappear?
By Julz Darroch

With the already overwhelming demands we place on ourselves to keep ahead in the modern business marketplace, the fear of having more of our lives squeezed out in order to get ahead is very real.
Our working week is getting longer, and our ability to leave work and have a break uninterrupted by cell phone calls and emails is becoming more difficult.
A new challenge to our time management skills and our efforts at work/life balance is the rapid growth of the global marketplace. While traditionally those we dealt with in business were on the same schedule as us, we are just as likely to be working with people and businesses across the world.
For many operating businesses across more than one country (and therefore more than one time zone), it is not so much the global marketplace itself that creates pressure on working hours, it’s the access to technology that makes 24/7 communication easier.
This easier communication has a flow on effect of raising everyone’s expectations of how fast we can respond to emails and how available we are for calls and meetings - a challenge when those we are trying to communicate with are working when we are (or should be) sleeping.
To save us all from an endless working week we need to apply the same rules we apply for local work / life balance - the discipline of working smarter not harder and setting boundaries.
This means getting enough rest and being the best you can be; cutting down on holidays and working longer hours is not the most effective way to be on top of your game.
But first ask the hard question, why are you ‘going global’? The choice may not be yours, but if you are facing doing the same business with the same results with the only difference in being the increase in hours of the day you are working, it’s worth rethinking your business strategy.
The effort is worth it only if the benefits are more than the sacrifices.

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot” - Michael Altshuler

If you are making the leap, or have had the leap made for you into the global marketplace and want to hold onto those precious ‘away from work’ moments, here are some tips to get you started:

It can be so easy to just pick up the phone at a time that suits you, not thinking of the time it is in the country at the other end of the phone. Place a reminder on the bottom of your offshore emails, or prearrange the best times during the week for contact so you don’t end up being available 24/7.
Keep a diary with a rough tally of your working hours. Each time you take a call or do an out of hours email jot it down. Pretty soon you’ll get an idea of how much extra work you are doing.
Try to avoid ‘topping and tailing’ your working day. If you have a late night or early morning work commitment, try and keep the other end of the day free from appointments.
Make a note of the holidays in the countries you are working with and use their holidays as a chance to take a breather yourself.
Work a split shift. If you have to make a late night call or tele-meeting then don’t be tempted to stick it out at the office. Head home, spend time with your family or relaxing and then head to somewhere quiet to take the call.

Julz Darroch
www.julzdarroch.co.nz