Working all the year without a vacation is like driving a car for 365 days without even stopping to change the oil. You know what happens to the car. Similarly your body breaks down if you make it overwork.
Corporate culture
You may not consider how many holidays you get a year when you search for a job. Perhaps vacation is more important than the pecuniary benefits you look for. Before accepting a job offer, you must know the corporate culture of the company and the value it gives to vacation.
Some seasonal companies specify the time for vacations. In companies having continual workflow, employees take short and frequent vacations. If you are handling a project, you can take off only after completing it.
Many jobseekers don't like to discuss the vacation issue during salary negotiations. It is a mistake. Time off is necessary for efficient performance. Some youngsters seek extra holidays in lieu of lower salary. It is not a bad idea. Some companies insist on taking their yearly vacation as they are driven by the corporate philosophy that an employee can work efficiently only when he takes the vacation.
Game plan
If you want your career to go smooth while you are on vacation, think of all aspects of the work and make sure a game plan is in place to meet any exigency. You should inform your team mates about your vacation plans in advance. Better you name temporary team leads so that work goes on unhindered.
You should leave a contact phone number with your boss. How to make sure your coworkers won't indiscriminately call you? What if your boss wants you to have a beeper? You have to decide on the ground rules. You fix your boundaries of working and if the employer doesn't want to work within the boundaries and your boss says there is no room for vacations, better search for more vacation-friendly workplace.
Don't carry your BlackBerry. A vacation should really be a break from work. If your boss insists on checking voice mail, set the limits. You can agree to check voice mail once a week and to respond only if something is urgent. Treat your vacation as an opportunity for shared learning.
If you think that you are indispensable and the company can't survive without you, perhaps you are mistaken. In this world of competition nobody is indispensable.
