Do you find it difficult to stop working for a few weeks? You may not be one of those workaholics who works even on vacation, but you may have a few important things in common with them.
We usually associate vacations with a time of relaxation that everyone enjoys and is extremely pleasant to fantasize about. However, many people experience varying degrees of anxiety about requesting, arranging, and taking a vacation that goes beyond a day or two off.
Imagine the difficulty for workaholics on vacation and, for those who, without having such a serious psychological health problem, also have difficulty leaving the trenches for a few days.
It is indeed paradoxical, but people are like this: we have contradictory needs, we need to rest but sometimes we resist turning off the computer and activating the out- of-office email. There can be many reasons for this.
When we experience overwhelming disgust at the idea of vacations, or even anxiety or an inability to stop working even when we’re not in the office, we may have a work addiction problem.
Either way, let’s look at six of the most common reasons why people who are experiencing psychological difficulties go on vacation.
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Workaholics on vacation… or almost. For what?
1. Horror, loss of bearings
I have a hard time going on vacation because I’m afraid of leaving important things undone without realizing it. Certainly, when we have three or four tasks to accomplish, it is relatively easy to organize our work before we leave. However, it is common that we have different responsibilities and roles and an issue slips through the cracks and creates an unpleasant surprise while we are away or upon our return.
2. I don’t want to miss anything
I worry that while I’m gone, important things will happen and I’ll miss them. When things are exciting in our business and our level of involvement and responsibility has been high lately, we don’t want something important to happen just for once in our absence, which is independent of our will and for which we cannot be present.
3. I don’t know how to “play vacation”
I work so much that I feel uncomfortable when I have a lot of free time. Sometimes the problem is that we are not used to not working. Our work takes up so much of our lives, our inner and outer space that we don’t have the skills to manage outside of that framework. Therefore, although it may seem paradoxical, the possibility of spending a week or two outside, or longer, does not seem attractive to us, but threatening.
4. My vacation won’t be as cool as everyone else’s
Yes, social networks and the media have done a lot of damage and the bar for the perfect vacation is, more than high, unattainable. So no matter how hard we try to come up with a plan that works for us, comparing it to what (we think) everyone else is doing, it always falls flat. So what seemed like a great vacation turns out to be an unappetizing plan not worth undertaking.
5. I don’t even want to think about what awaits me when I return
It stresses me out thinking about the amount of things I’ll have to do when I get back. In general, by being a little careful, you can do everything before turning off the computer. The threat comes, on the other hand, from the thought of all the things that will accumulate in our absence that no one will manage and that will be waiting for us with open arms when we return. The idea of climbing a hellish slope after returning from vacation until we readjust to the normal rhythm of work can cast a very dark shadow over our preparations.
6. I don’t like my life, I prefer to work
I have so many problems in my personal life that it is better for me to work than to spend my free time. Maybe we don’t like our own company, our family life is failing, our friends are away doing their own thing, and we don’t have much of a budget to escape to the ends of the earth. to see what happens… If so, frankly, staying at work rather than taking vacation seems like a much better option than being fully involved in our lives outside of the office during the days we have requested.
Don’t worry. You may leave some details unanswered, but they are certainly not the most important ones. Maybe your projects don’t look great if you post them on a social network, but after all, you don’t do them to show off, you do them to experience them, right? And if you don’t like your life or can’t find anything exciting to do, it’s not the end of the world: don’t do anything exciting on vacation. Stay home, try to live peacefully and do things you enjoy, and you’ll have a better plan next year.
However, if you are not just in difficulty, but, when you think about it, are ready to join the group of “addicts” to work even on vacation, you should go directly to a specialist for psychological help.
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If your case is less serious, the important thing is that, both when you are in the office and when you request the leave to which you are entitled, you know how to lead a healthy physical and psychological life as best you can. And, if you have the responsibility that you help the members of your team to be well at work but also to learn to use their vacation properly. You guessed it: it’s good for them, but also for your business.
Focusing on emotional well-being in organizations
You do not know how? No problem. Emotional well-being program for companies, designed by its team of expert psychologists with the aim of helping companies place the health of their employees at the heart of their strategy to increase productivity in a sustainable way.
Through this collaboration, HR leaders can receive personalized, data-driven guidance to increase motivation in the teams they lead. For example, to properly balance their time and organize their work in such a way that their vacation is not a problem for them, but the physical and psychological benefit that it is supposed to be.
On the other hand, emotional well-being program for companies offers employees a mental health care service structured in different levels, depending on their needs at a given moment.
So, At a second level, they can receive emotional support through a chat with one of the psychologists registered on our platform. If they prefer more continuous support over time, they just need to access the third level of the program: online psychological therapy with a psychologist specialized in cases like yours, for example people who consider themselves to be executioners work even on vacation. Contact us today and request more information about our emotional wellness program for businesses. And go on vacation with complete peace of mind, that’s what it’s for!