The 4th of July is upon us. This is the time where Minnesota culture and Minnesota weather is at its peak. And this year's summer start has been perfect. Not being a native Minnesotan, I always find it interesting that various professional associations in MN stop offering their programs in the summer just because of the season. I know I still work throughout the summer and find networking and learning beneficial 12 months a year. But I'm a little out of sync with that part of the MN culture. Oh well.

What is the culture in your organization regarding time off? What is your personal style for taking time off? Do you take advantage of the time off benefits offered to you or that you offer? Do you see the real benefit that rest, relaxation and time away from work provide?

If I may generalize, the non-profit world offers its employees generous amounts of time off in exchange (some times) for less competitive wages. The younger work force has been reminding the "older" work force that personal time off is a key part of their lifestyle -- part of true work life balance. This behavior is frequently in contrast to baby boomers and workaholic work cultures. I think there's an important lesson here.

As a self-described workaholic (I'm writing this at 8:00 pm) and "HR nerd," I'm in conflict. Sometimes what I do for myself regarding time off doesn't match what I teach my audiences or how I coach my clients. How about you? Are you role modeling "all work and no play" or the better motto of "lots of work and lots of play?"

Check out your workplace and see what the trend is. Are your employees taking all their allocated time off and finding some of that balance? If not, why not? Does your culture reinforce overwork or do you treasure the refreshment that getting away from the pressures of work brings to your workers?

We're all aware that some organizations have subtly penalized workers for utilizing all their time off. If your organization is still in that mode, it's time to change. Burning out workers is not a positive employee retention tool. It clearly decreases employee effectiveness. Ironic how too much work has the reverse effect on our productivity. We claim we work better under pressure, but all we're really doing is rushing to get a lot of work done quickly -- not necessarily getting better results.

So, celebrate Independence Day. Independence from work. True independence -- which means no business cell phones, no checking email, no checking work voice mail, no thinking about what may be piling up, no work! Funny, your work will be there when you get back. And you might even be able to tackle it easier and better after a nice relaxing period of refreshment.

So on that note, I'm ready for a nice long weekend. See you when I get back!

Copyright (c) 2006 Arlene Vernon, HRx, Inc.