Finland is a country where people usually enjoy the luxury of ample holiday time. Yearly norm is some four weeks of summer holiday and one week in the winter. As everybody knows, this is also a country where both men and women work almost equally and where childcare is taken for granted. Vacation is important family time.
The busier you are the more you need time to take off!
However, the time needed for vacation and recuperation is very individual. I have encountered people who feel overwhelmed by their workload while a seemingly similar workload isn’t even enough for another person. Passion for what you do makes wonders. Sometimes even to the point, where burnout occurs. The good explanation for working too much is: “Because I love my work”! I’m also honoured to meet next generation leaders in my job. More often than before, I hear them stressing the need for work-life balance. I hope there will be less burnout in the future.
These past couple of months I’ve been fortunate to work with some great leaders; one of them, a CFO who while carrying out a demanding recruitment, was selling 1/3 of his 1,7 billion € company. Not once did he seem stressed, not once did he show anything else except concentrating solely on the recruitment when we met. He once said: “Ani, if you only knew what’s going on behind the scenes.” I think there is the clue: to be able to concentrate on the task at hand, giving it 100%. Then move to the next challenge and give it your 100%.
Finland basically closes for the month of July. Hopefully all the people taking a longer Finnish style holiday or a shorter version can concentrate on “the task at hand”. Just leave the work behind! Give the holiday your 100%. No multitasking with your holiday and work! I love the out-of-office-message I just got from a client: I’m having a holiday and won’t be checking my emails!
