To catch up on work on a days off

[SilverGlitterBaubles]

So work has been quite busy and stressful recently. I have been panicking all weekend about work that's piling up. I have a few days off for half term and think I will use this time to catch up. DH says absolutely not it's my holiday time and that I am too conscientious and I am giving my employers an unrealistic expectation of workload. I just cannot relax when I feel like I'm behind. AIBU? Should I just get on with it and then relax or just deal with it when I get back.

It's not ideal, but if it will help.

What I'd do is- spend 30 mins going through emails and tasks.

Mark the ones that you know are absoloutley non negotiable in terms of speed/deadline.

The rest - colour code into:- start straight after holiday and non urgent

Then do the non negotiable and log off for the rest of your holiday.

I sometimes use the first day of a run of days off to catch up on outstanding work, as it helps me to switch off and enjoy my break knowing that I've left things in a reasonable state. However it's important to avoid burn out, so if you feel you want to do this I would keep it to a minimum and get it done now.

Entirely depends on your company, and whether this is a peaks and trigger situation or ongoing overload.

I often work during holidays. But - no-one pressures me to do it. I only do it when it’s a peak of work or a specific issue - not day to day work. It doesn’t upset my work life balance - I switch straight back into holiday mode. And my company are super flexible. This week for example, I’m off Thu but I’ll do 30 mins on something time bound just not to overload my colleague. But then on Mon I’ll disappear for 2 hours for physio and no-one will clock watch me. On one occasion where I ended up doing loads on a day off, my boss emailed me and said - cancel this whole day of holiday, but still log off as soon as you can.

You need to talk to your manager and say that there's just too much for you to deal with. You work hard during your contracted hours and shouldn't have to take work home with you (maybe very very occasionally it'll be unavoidable).

But long term, it's not going to work. It's not like you're skiving or procrastinating during work time - so they need to hire enough staff to cover their workload, or else pay you for the overtime you're doing (and that certainly shouldn't need to happen during a booked holiday!)

I used to do this (weekends, evenings, holidays...) I have now stopped, as I suffered a major burnout earlier this year. I'm in a fairly senior position, but I now provide my line manager with a short handover email, a day or so before I go off, advising what is, and is not, possible. The lack of resource in your organisation should not be your problem to solve during your leave. You must take rest, or else you could end up the same - and it was absolutely vile.

No way. It's your holiday time.

I would if it made me feel better - and either way it would be my decision and my OH gets no say on how I spend my free time (assuming you hadn't already made plans together).

Thanks all for your responses. DCs have some school work to do so decided that today is the day they get it done while I do a specific work task that will lighten my load a little for my return and help me relax a little. I have to be very strict with myself not to get embroiled in replies to emails or it will just snowball. DH is just concerned for my well-being as I have also recently worked from home through being ill with Covid which most definitely prolonged my recovery. My employers are usually great although we are going through a rapid expansion and staffing levels are not what they should be right now. No one expects that I should work on my time off it is just my expectations of myself and not liking being thought badly of for being behind or swamped. My DSis says this is a female in the workplace thing that we always feel guilty about letting others down but that it's not something men worry so much about

Do it but strictly limit your time, so two hours in the morning or whatever.

It really is a slippery slope. I did this in my last job at a local authority, like you it would stress me out knowing what I was coming back to. After a while I got into a pattern of working late nights and weekends to meet deadlines. Management knew I would stay so the last minute deadlines always ended up on my lap, on top of my ‘day job’.

I got sick of it and in the end just let it pile up, I learned how to not think about work when on leave, started working my actual hours then got moaned at because tasks weren’t done on time but I was on 20k and no longer felt obligated to work free overtime. (It was technically flexi, with core hours but it was pointless taking the time back because you would end up working extra again to catch up)

I left and I’m now in a job with set hours, decent days off, overtime is set out in advance and paid time and half, and people are actually grateful if I lend other teams a hand when I finish my own tasks early. I would never ever go back to a job like my previous one or get myself in that pattern again, at any cost tbh.