If you felt like your life was passing you by at lightning speed last year, then you are probably not the only one. Thanks to long stretches of working from home, the overlap between work life and private life was greater than ever before. There is no time at all to think about the future when you spend the whole day going from one Zoom appointment to another, with only a short break in between to take care of the kids.
“We’ve been in a bit of a tight spot in the last twelve months,” explains Beatrice van der Heijden. We’ve had to adjust to a new work rhythm fairly quickly, which we’ve been forced to become accustomed to. But is this something we really wanted to do? “Those idle moments have all but disappeared. There’s no more catching up on the latest gossip when you and your colleague head off to the coffee machine, and you no longer get a moment to yourself while you’re waiting at the petrol station.”
Time for reflection
Every minute in the past year focused on the here and now, and now it is time to cut that cord. “Reflection time is vital to your career. In addition to focusing on your current projects, you also need to be able to anticipate future labour market demands in order to remain an expert in your field.” That does not mean that you have to spend every single one of your well-deserved holiday days on career planning, but it could be an important component of your holiday period. “You need to reflect on a regular basis. You may find that the best time for you to do this is during the Christmas period, or during the Ramadan; it doesn’t really matter when you do it, as long as it’s a longer period in which you can find the peace and quiet for reflection.”
In her research, Van der Heijden examines such factors as employability, which involves the usability of employees both in the here and now and in the longer term. She consequently distinguishes between five different dimensions: professional expertise, anticipation and optimisation, personal flexibility, organisational sensitivity, and balance. She explains that if an employee is able to sufficiently strengthen these competencies and apply them adequately, this will have a positive effect on his/her career.
“When it comes to anticipation and optimisation, holidays can be particularly beneficial. They provide you with the opportunity to reflect on what you’ve achieved in your career so far and on your expectations for the future, to think about what you want and what could be developed, and what you need to do in order to remain employable.” Van der Heijden explains that this past coronavirus year has also influenced the dimension of organisational sensitivity: “Because we’ve been working from home, we’ve experienced some degree of isolation, which has caused stress for many people. The lack of interaction has made people more insecure. If your only forms of communication are chat apps and Zoom, it’s sometimes difficult to gauge what people think of your work, and how the people in the organisation perceive you.”
Tailored approach
Van der Heijden points out that this last year was more than characterised by a tailored approach. It is clearer than ever that it would be futile for employers to demand that all of their employees go about their work in exactly the same way. An individual approach is what is required if employers wish to get the best out of people. This will be especially important when we start to spend more time at the office again. “Some people do their utmost to keep their work life and private life separate. But there are other people who like to work from home, so that they can organise their own working hours around their household chores. There’s no right or wrong way; the best approach is the one that works best for you and works in accordance with both your own wishes and those of your employer. Employers need to put their trust in people and respect the way in which they go about their work. The fact that we’ve all managed to keep things going shows that, if there’s a good career fit, people are really willing to give it their all: I take my hat off to everyone when I see all that they’ve achieved in the past year.”
Suggestions such as ‘Don’t send emails on the weekend’ are lost on Van der Heijden. “I’d be inclined to advise people to ‘send emails when you’ve got the time and space to work calmly and quietly, even if it’s outside regular office hours’. But don’t expect an immediate response from the other person; make sure that you still manage to take a rest at regular intervals. The rigid nine-to-five mentality can be a huge obstacle for some people, which only serves to trivialise our characteristics. If someone wants to send a few emails on the weekend so that they can begin the following work week with peace of mind, then they should be given the space to do so.”
But that does not mean that we have to be on stand-by 24 hours a day, and constantly be ready to do our job. On the contrary: “Let each other know exactly what your expectations are. For example, if I have some time left over and I put something down on paper sooner rather than later, it’s a conscious decision, because it allows me to plan ahead and give others more time. I then inform my colleagues that they should carry out their task when they have time, and that the deadline is still a few weeks away. That gives me peace of mind because I’m able to do my work when it suits me best, and my colleagues are afforded the same courtesy. I often see how work pressure builds up, and I believe that it’s simply because people don’t plan far enough ahead. As a supervisor, you need to advise your employees, and be clear with one another about what your expectations are, but ensure that there’s room and flexibility for the individual and for each other’s preferences in how you go about your work.”
Active holidays
Van der Heijden herself is a keen traveller. When she is on holiday, she consciously searches out situations that resemble her day-to-day work as little as possible. “I try to break away from what I normally do, and get out and discover new people and new cultures. No chained-brand hotels or resorts for me; I prefer to stay in small local hotels. And because my day-to-day job involves so much talking and writing, I like to keep active and get some physical exercise when I’m on holiday. I get up early, which gives me the whole day to get out and explore a new city or nature reserve on foot.”
But that does not mean that she would recommend these sorts of holiday plans for everyone. Because here too, it is the individual’s preferences, needs and characteristics that must come first. Van der Heijden: “The most important thing about a holiday is that you’re not preprogrammed, but that you make your own conscious choices. If you want to spend two whole weeks sleeping in and lounging around, make sure that you do just that, and that you don’t allow yourself to be put off by what other people do when they’re on holiday.”
Image source: manny PANTOJA via Unsplash.