Don't Suffer from Vacation Deprivation Syndrome!

Are you suffering from vacation deprivation syndrome? You’re not alone.

More than 50 million American workers are expected to forego an average of three vacation days each this year, according to a survey by Expedia.com. That means we’ll be giving back 438 million days when we could be barbecuing at the beach, hiking in the mountains or kicking back at home.

Expedia.com, the online travel service, has made it their business to conduct an annual poll on vacation deprivation (yes, it’s an actual term). While it may be self-serving since their mission is to get folks to book travel through their website, it’s nonetheless eye-opening.

Why do you suppose all us work-crazed zombies hand in our hard-earned time off? A whopping 39% of men surveyed by Expedia cite guilt as the primary reason, with 30% of women seconding that. Considering we get less vacation time than our counterparts in Great Britain, Germany, France and Spain, that’s pretty sad.

I see this scenario played out summers and holidays among my coaching clients. While most want to spend time with friends and family or recharge their batteries, they experience a sort of push-pull when it comes to unplugging from the office. Most handle it by taking three or four-day weekends and calling those vacations. Or, if they take a week off, they stay connected to the office by phone, email or both. In fact, according to a CareerBuilders.com poll, one in five workers work during their vacations.

But some folks have figured out how to cure – or, at least, manage - vacation deprivation syndrome. One of my clients, a senior financial executive I’ll call Karla, considers her vacations sacrosanct. Even though Karla experiences some guilt when she’s wrapping up loose ends or handing off projects to co-workers, she insists on taking the four weeks vacation she negotiated with her company.

Unlike her colleagues in their high-pressure corporate environment, Karla often takes three consecutive weeks each year. Not only does she want a stretch of time for international travel, but she finds she can’t unwind for the first four or five days. Karla plans her travel when workloads are lightest, never during tax season or fiscal year-end. She also lets everyone in the office know her travel schedule and availability in advance.

For example, if she’s vacationing in Europe, Karla lets her boss and assistant know she’ll check email once a day and give them an international cell phone number in case of emergencies. But if she’s out of range, like when she toured the Amazon, she tells them when she’ll be back in touch. For Karla, working out a detailed plan and ignoring the occasional guilt pang helps her reconcile a demanding career with a passion for travel.

Another client I’ll call Mark owns a small copywriting business. Mark deals with vacations in an entirely different way. He and his family take two weeks off each summer and rent a cottage on the North Carolina coast, inviting friends and relatives to join them. Mark brings his laptop and balances a leisurely work schedule with playtime. Because Mark lets his clients know he’s scaling back his work for those two weeks and charges accordingly, he’s able to enjoy his vacation and come back to the office with renewed creativity.

Here are some tips for taking your vacation cure:

1. Plan well in advance and clue everyone – boss, assistant, co-workers, clients – in on your itinerary.
2. Decide how reachable you want to be. Again, manage other’s expectations by letting them know when, where, and how often they can contact you.
3. Unplug from appliances and plug into people and places. Resist the urge to constantly check your Blackberry or voicemail, especially if you’re vacationing with kids.
4. Rest assured that you’ll come back renewed, refreshed and better equipped to handle the hassles of the job. Have fun!

Libby Gill is an executive coach, columnist and author. To find out if you're a "Dreamer or a Doer" visit www.LibbyGill.com.