Post-Vacation Overload: The Silent Productivity Killer

Ever got back from holiday, and after one day back at work you feel like you need another holiday? 😩😅

Last week I got back from a 10-day holiday in Seville with my wife. I did no work at all, and was intentionally living in the moment - having a proper break. 🌴

In modern life taking time off to recharge can seem counterintuitive with our hustle culture, and there’s this belief that constant work and availability are the only way to achieve success and growth.

While taking some time to recharge your batteries and soak up some culture can be really beneficial for many reasons, no one seems to be talking about what happens when you get back. What happens when you’ve got a lot of work to catch up on that the rest of your team haven’t managed to get to or haven’t prioritised?

After your first day back at work you feel like you just need another holiday… sigh (or even worse, you spent time working while you were suppose to be off).

In the past, when I came back to work a lot had happened, but none of the stuff that I was responsible for had been done.

• No one had updated our project schedule.
• No one had kept on top of invoicing our live projects.
• Clients weren’t clear on the status of their work (even if the team were actually on track).

Now don’t get me wrong, my team were great and there were some valid reasons why they weren’t able to pick up some of the tasks, but it left me feeling quite deflated and having to spend the first couple of days back clearing the backlog.

So not only was the impact negative to me, it was also not good for the rest of the team AND our clients.

Without a clear strategy for handling team time off, there are many hidden consequences that can impact your business in a big way.
From decreased morale to compromised project quality and delayed timelines, ultimately you need to ensure that you build processes that give resilience and redundancy into the way your team and business operate.

So how do you fix it?

It can be as simple as these 3 steps:

1. Allocate resource needed to cover (may need an impact assessment)
2. Do a handover session (with notes) to the person/people covering
3. When the person returns, do a hand-back session

What you achieve here is a clear setting of expectations, and alignment on what will/won’t be done in the time the person is away. The hand-back ensures you get continuity and dont need to burn time finding out what happened while you were away.

Now lets dig in a little bit deeper.

What is the impact / consequences of not having a plan in place?

• Project Delays: Without someone to oversee and coordinate the project, there is a higher likelihood of delays in project tasks and milestones.

• Missed Deadlines: The absence of a manager can lead to missed project deadlines, which can damage client relationships and result in financial penalties.

• Reduced Productivity: Team members may struggle to stay productive without clear direction and guidance from their manager.

• Quality Issues: The absence of oversight can lead to quality control issues, potentially resulting in errors and defects in project deliverables.

• Communication Breakdown: Effective communication within the team and with stakeholders can suffer, leading to misunderstandings and misaligned expectations.

• Resource Allocation Problems: Without proper management, resources may be allocated inefficiently, leading to underutilization or overwork for some team members.

• Client Dissatisfaction: Clients may become frustrated with the lack of responsiveness and progress updates, which can damage the relationship.

• Risk Management Challenges: Identification and mitigation of project risks may be neglected during the manager’s absence, increasing the likelihood of unforeseen issues arising.

• Loss of Continuity: Continuity in project knowledge and decision-making can be disrupted, making it harder to pick up where the absent manager left off.

• Stress and Burnout: Team members who must take on additional responsibilities in the manager’s absence may experience increased stress and burnout.

• Knowledge Hoarding: If the manager is the sole repository of critical project information, their absence can lead to knowledge hoarding and operational bottlenecks.

• Inconsistent Processes: The absence of the manager can result in deviations from established processes and workflows, leading to inconsistencies in project execution.

• Increased Costs: Fixing issues and delays caused by the absence may result in higher project costs than originally budgeted.

• Employee Frustration: Team members may become frustrated with the lack of leadership and support, which can impact their job satisfaction and motivation.

• Reputation Damage: Repeated instances of unmanaged absences can harm the organization’s reputation, making it appear unreliable to clients and partners.

• Missed Business Opportunities: Important business opportunities, such as identifying new projects or partnerships, may be overlooked during the manager’s absence.

• Difficulty in Recovery: Upon the manager’s return, there may be a significant effort required to catch up on missed work and resolve issues, further delaying progress.

To mitigate these negative impacts, it’s crucial for organizations to have contingency plans and strategies in place to ensure that project management responsibilities are covered during a manager’s absence.

Some things you can action to stop these issues happening

Here are some key strategies and actions that project or delivery managers can take to effectively manage team time off:

• Resource Planning and Allocation: Maintain a comprehensive resource calendar to track team members’ planned time off. Allocate work and responsibilities accordingly, ensuring that projects are not heavily dependent on individuals who will be on vacation.

• Cross-Training and Skill Sharing: Encourage team members to cross-train and share knowledge and skills with their colleagues. This ensures that others can step in during a team member’s absence without disrupting project progress.

• Clear Communication: Establish a clear communication protocol for team members on vacation. Ensure that they provide detailed handover notes and delegate their responsibilities to specific colleagues.

• Prioritization of Tasks: Work with team members to prioritize tasks and deliverables before their vacation. Focus on completing critical milestones and identify tasks that can wait until their return.

• Temporary Work Coverage: Hire temporary or freelance resources to cover critical roles during team members’ absences. Ensure these temporary workers are briefed on the project’s requirements.

• Flexible Work Arrangements: Consider offering flexible work arrangements, such as remote work, for team members who might need to address urgent matters while on vacation.

• Automate Routine Tasks: Implement automation for routine and repetitive tasks to reduce the workload during a team member’s absence.

• Regular Check-Ins: Schedule periodic check-ins with team members on vacation to address any urgent issues and ensure a smooth handover.

• Adjusting Deadlines and Expectations: Be realistic about project timelines and expectations during a team member’s absence. Communicate any necessary adjustments to clients or stakeholders.

• Team Bonding and Morale: Foster a team culture that encourages members to support each other during vacations. Recognise and reward team members who step up to cover for their colleagues.

• Documentation and Knowledge Sharing: Maintain up-to-date project documentation and knowledge-sharing platforms. Encourage team members to contribute to these resources, making information readily accessible.

• Post-Vacation Recap: Conduct a debrief with team members returning from vacation to review what happened during their absence. Use this feedback to improve processes for future time-off management.

• Long-Term Planning: Encourage team members to plan their vacations well in advance. Consider creating a team-wide vacation calendar to help with long-term project planning.

• Technology Tools: Utilize project management and collaboration tools to streamline communication and task tracking. Ensure that team members have access to these tools while on vacation.

• Emergency Response Plan: Develop an emergency response plan for critical situations that may arise during a team member’s vacation. Clearly define who should be contacted in case of emergencies.

These strategies can help project and delivery managers proactively manage team time off, maintain project momentum, and minimise disruptions to projects and operations.