Managing work requests during personal time.

This week I took time off to attend to personal matters. My team was aware of my absence well in advance, my out of office was very clear when I would be back and who would be able to assist during my absence. Despite all this, I still received messages on Whatsapp with various requests.

If you are employed, you have probably received work related requests that come whist you are on holiday. Even with a clear out of office that informs everyone when you will be back and who to reach out to during your break, there are always “those people” who will still send you requests. Today I would like to share a few strategies that have worked for me over the years.

1. Assess urgency of the request. The first step is to assess if the request really requires immediate attention. In some cases some request can wait or can be actioned by someone else.

2. Create clear boundaries. What I have learnt over the years is that you teach people how to treat you. If you are the “always on” type of person who always responds to requests even during your personal time, you create an expectation from those you work with. It becomes normal for people to send you requests even when you are taking personal time off. It’s very important to create boundaries around your personal time and communicate them.

3. Schedule your response time. If you have decided to respond to work requests that come during your time off, it’s a great idea to schedule specific times in which to do this. You can also use the schedule response feature in your email so your response can be sent at a time that works for you. You want to avoid a back and forth via email which defeats the purpose of your time away from work.

4. Remind colleagues of your unavailability. If the requests continue to come, It might be necessary to remind colleagues that you are unavailable, your date of return and who can assist them in your absence.

Taking personal time off to rest and spend time with our loved ones is important. The truth is the companies we work for will continue to thrive even in our absence. It is therefore very important to strike a good balance that works for you.

What are some of the strategies that have worked for you to manage worked related requests that come during your time off? Feel free to share them in the comments.