Way back in my agency days I worked for a man named Stuart. He was a Russian man who would regale us with tales of cold Siberian winters from his Army days.
Stuart also dinged me for showing up to work “late”. The hours for our staffing office were 7 am to 5 pm every day. My daycare didn’t open until 7, but it was only 5 minutes from the office. So me rolling in 7 minutes late was UNACCEPTABLE even though I had staff there to open up… not to mention I worked through lunch / stayed late every day.
Stuart was not a fun boss.
Eventually our firm was bought out and we got a new COO – Bob. As part of making the rounds and visiting the offices, he took my team to lunch. Stuart joined us, and I remember the conversation turning to vacations. Stuart proudly crowed “I haven’t taken a vacation in 6 years!” Bob turned to Stuart, locked yes with him and said “do you think that impresses me?”
Now I’m sure the WHOLE restaurant wasn’t listening… but the silence was DEAFENING. I’d never heard such a thing from a leader. I was VERY early in my career – still with my first ever agency (after a few promotions) and honestly had NO idea how to navigate the corporate world, and had very little basis for comparison when it came to bosses and leaders. To hear a C-suite leader not only encourage us to take our PTO but also explain WHY Stuart – as a leader – needed to also support time off? Whoa. My mind was blown.
20 years later, I will admit I still struggle with boundaries and fully disconnecting when taking time off. I’m working on it, I promise – and though I’ve long forgotten what these men look like, I remember how they made me FEEL.
Take your PTO.
Drink Water.
Be like Bob.
