Jennifer Newman: Surviving your colleague's vacation

Summer is in full swing and many employees are currently on vacation, or will be leaving for a holiday soon.

But while some are lazing next to a pool or on a beach, those left behind in the office may be trying to dig themselves out from under the pile of work left behind by their vacationing colleagues.

Workplace psychologist Jennifer Newman says vacations can be stressful for both those who are preparing to leave and don't want to pass on the work to others, and for those who get handed left-over tasks that they're not trained to do.

She sat down with The Early Edition host Rick Cluff to offer some tips for staff and management to successfully survive a colleague's vacation.

Why can juggling workloads be tricky at this time of year?

Most of the time schedules for summer holidays are set in advance, it's not like it's a surprise that your colleague is going away. The issue becomes juggling the workload while everyone heads off, because sometimes one worker is left holding down the fort. This can cause a lot of stress, especially if the demands remain the same but with less staff.

Also, subbing-in for someone else who is on holiday can be stressful because you might not know how to do that person's job. Here, a lack of cross-functional training becomes a problem and source of stress. Also there's a lot of activity that's done prior to someone going on holiday — so much so that some might not even want to go on holiday, because they have to work so hard to prepare for it.

For example, I once worked with an accountant who was a perfectionist, and before she left for holiday she worked overtime to make sure everything was in order. But she started to feel like she was burning out before her own holiday. Then there are also the co-workers who tidy up by adding things to a co-worker's to-do list, or those who leave everything hanging while they're away.

What kinds of scenarios get played out around vacation time?

It's a lot to do with your colleague's personality. Those who are conscientious, which is one of the five common personality traits, tend to be detail-oriented and care about the quality and quantity of their work. They ensure that their co-workers don't end up with extra work when they're away.

Now there is the other end of the continuum, the happy-go-lucky folks. They are very easy to get along with, but they might not have the same attention to detail as those who are conscientious. They may think, 'I'm just away for a couple of weeks, I'll handle everything when I'm back. What's the worst that can happen?' And then there are those who delegate their work to you during their vacation.

How do you survive the conscientious colleague's departure?

Workers can meet and plan their workloads prior to leaving on vacation. Conscientious workers tend to like to plan well, and at that meeting they will tell you what they're leaving for you, if anything. They may ask if you feel overwhelmed by the work they're delegating.

If there is concern about the workload from the meeting, you should all go back to the boss to clarify what needs to be done while your colleague is away. But those on the other end of the scale might find that very irritating and feel like they're being nitpicked.

What if your colleague takes a more laissez-faire approach to preparing to go on vacation?

It's important to gauge your boss's expectations — is he or she expecting certain things to get done during that vacation period? Are there tasks that the colleague can do now, or can it wait until they get back? It's important in this situation to identify what those expectations are. Either ask the laissez-faire person to tidy up their work before they head off for vacation, or if you have to take on their work, be prepared. If you don't know how to do that person's job, ask them to show you how to do it in their absence.

What can organizations do to deal with summer vacation overload?

You have to examine your staff levels prior to people leaving for vacation, and create summer priorities. It's important to fit the workload to the number of staff, and think about the cross-functional tasks you are asking employees to do. Rather than having someone take on another person's entire job, find out what tasks may be necessary during that period and help them understand how to do it. This may mean some extra training before vacations start.

Organizations should also put knowledgeable staff in place for specific tasks. If you've got a big project coming in the summer, and you know it's coming, look at schedules and start to do some up-front planning. That is really important from a supervisory point of view.

This interview was condensed and edited. 

To hear the full interview click on the audio labelled: Jennifer Newman: Surviving your colleague's vacation