Does tech ruin your vacation?
Posted on March 25th, 2008 – 7:45 AMBy Randy Salas
I wondered in today’s paper if we can ever truly take a vacation from work because of cell phones, e-mail and other personal technology that keeps the office just a quick call or a few clicks away no matter where in the world we go.
Just in the past week, I called four people to interview for various articles I’m working on. All four were on vacation out of state, and all four took my call right away or returned my message within a few hours.
One of them was Dan Buettner, the Minneapolis author and explorer, who was relaxing in the Virgin Islands when I first contacted him. I met him for breakfast once he returned and asked him why he interrupted his vacation to do business essentially. He said he wasn’t bothered at all by it. In fact, he said, he likes the fact that he can keep in touch with the business world while also getting some R&R. “Technology allows me to take a vacation,” he said. That’s an interesting point. As a self-employed person with no formal office, Buettner might be missing important business if he’s not available.
On the other hand, it’s not just vacationers who can’t escape work. Reader Alexis Todd of Plymouth called to say that she was on doctor-ordered bed rest due to pneumonia. Nevertheless, she still worked 5 1/2 hours on a day when she was supposed to be out sick. Her rest was continually interrupted by e-mails and cell-phone calls from the office. Of course, she admitted, she allowed it to happen. But as a sales manager in tough economic times, she could be losing out on a sale (and its commission) if she doesn’t make herself available. “There’s this fear that even if I drop out of the business world for a day or two, my job is in jeopardy,” she said.
How do you handle your vacation and sick time? Do you really take a break from the office? Or do you let technology keep you available no matter where you are?
2 Responses to "Does tech ruin your vacation?"
I am on vacation now. I feel I have to stay connected otherwise I might miss a clever FARK headline, a flameware on Digg, a funny new lolcat or to start a rumor that waterparks are adding chemicals to the water to make people more agreeable to five dollar hot dogs.
After all what else am I going to do on vacation - interact with my family?
Heck no. I don’t even have a cell phone. Why? No, really, why? Do you really need to be available “all the time?” Christ, how did people manage for thousands of years of not being on the phone when they’re taking a cr*p, or “being out of contact” for 20 minutes on their drive to work? Stop the insanity of having some sort of “big brother” wanting to know “where you are” and “what you’re doing” every minute of your life.
Years ago, when you saw someone sort of wandering around talking to themselves, you thought they were nuts; now, they’re just yakking about the cig butt they saw in a gutter, or what shirt they have on, or what they ate for breakfast;
Yeah, still nuts, but hey they get to pay $100/mo. to do it!
