Make it a holiday by decking the halls, not checking the calls

Easing into the holidays means spending more time with family, and that means more time away from work. Yet you still feel that pull to sneak away and check texts, emails and phone messages. Your work-life balance is out of whack. Well, you’re not alone.

Most of us can’t be a digital hermit even for a few days, much less a week or more, while on vacation. Out of office, it seems, doesn’t really mean out of office.

More than half of American employees check back with the office on a regular basis while they are supposed to be relaxing. That is a key finding from national surveys by LinkedIn and a nationwide job placement agency.

There are many reasons workers say they feel the need to stay plugged in. Most say it eases their minds and gives them a comfort level to know everything is OK back at the office. One in every four is driven to communicate with the office because there are situations they feel only they can handle.

Not surprisingly, those who check work messages several times a day while on vacation are 8.5 times more likely to describe their worklife balance as “very poor” when compared with workers who stay unplugged the entire vacation.

Career anxiety also is a factor.

Sadly, one in five feels pressure to stay connected, saying it would hurt their careers if they went silent for days on end. Along those lines, 75% of workers who send work texts or emails feel “very insecure” about their positions. Conversely, 33% of those who feel “very secure” feel no need to monitor work messages.

Another interesting finding: The more you make the harder it is to take a break. Four of every five workers who make between $160,000 and $180,000 received either a phone call or email more than once while on vacation, while 92% of those making $180,000 to $200,000 and 93% of people who make over $200,000 get contacted during their days off.

Less money apparently means more privacy. On the other end of the income spectrum, 61% of those earning under $25,000 say they never engage with phone calls or emails on vacations.

The solution appears to be literally getting away from it all — finding that spot where you can’t be found. Just more than 56% of workers said they would be thrilled to find a remote spot where they were completely unreachable.

Give yourself a gift this holiday season: Just turn off the computer and the phone when you’re on vacation.

INNER-CITY STRENGTH

Team SI of Little Rock has won recognition as being one of the nation’s fastest growing inner-city businesses based on revenue growth. Team SI, led by chief executive and founder Tim Whitley, was ranked 18th based on its fiveyear growth rate of 322.35%.

The marketing firm, established in 2010, specializes in digital and social-media platforms.

Published by Fortune magazine, the list is compiled by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. Inner cities are defined as urban areas with higher unemployment and poverty rates and lower median incomes than surrounding metropolitan statistical areas.

“Inner City 100 companies are forces of economic opportunity, optimism and transformation in their communities, and Team SI is a shining example,” said Steve Grossman, CEO of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City.

BLACK FRIDAY AFTERMATH

You won’t have to stand in line for hours on end or pitch a tent out in the cold to participate in holiday sales next weekend. After Black Friday takes the steam out of you, rest up and take your time to participate in Small Business Saturday, which promotes local businesses.

The event supports brickand-mortar retailers in communities across Arkansas. Last year, more than 100 million shoppers spent a record $17.8 billion across the nation.

In Central Arkansas, you can find live music, kid’s craft areas and sales in neighborhoods, including Argenta, the River Market, SoMa, the Heights, Hillcrest and west Little Rock. This year, River Market patrons can buy a pint to sip while they shop.

QUALITY-IMPROVEMENT PROCESS

Join businesses across the state to learn how you can submit a winning application to participate in the Governor’s Quality Award Program.

The program provides opportunities for Arkansas’ businesses to measure their progress toward performance excellence. Any organization that is interested in improving its performance is eligible.

The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce will hold an application training workshop on Dec. 10 from 9 a.m.3 p.m. at its offices, 1200 W. Capitol Ave. in Little Rock. You will get help in writing your application for the highly competitive program, which uses the Baldridge Excellence Framework.

The Baldridge framework covers all aspects of management: leadership, strategic planning, workforce, operations and results, among others. It also includes core values and concepts that are found in high-performing organizations.

The program is built to accommodate all business sectors and is open to for-profit, nonprofit, small, large and mature businesses. Its goal is to help organizations improve productivity and effectiveness and pursue performance excellence.

The workshop alone can benefit your business — it will help you outline key metrics, measurements and understand how they are used for process improvement. Call (501) 372-2222 to register.

Column ideas or recommendations? Thoughts or musings that need pursuing? Contact me at amoreau@adgnewsroom.com or at 501-378-3567.