Vacation shouldn’t feel like workplace risk

As summer officially arrives, many Canadians are preparing for lake weekends, road trips, family vacations and the long-awaited opportunity to step away from work for a few days. At least, that’s the theory.

In practice, many employees are packing something extra alongside sunscreen and sandals: guilt.

A recent survey conducted by Angus Reid on behalf of Employment Hero sheds light on an uncomfortable reality in workplaces. While many organizations proudly promote work-life balance and encourage employees to use their vacation time, a significant number of workers still feel anxious about actually disconnecting.

The survey found 45 per cent of employees have delayed, shortened or changed vacation plans because of workload or workplace pressures. Nearly half (46 per cent) admit they check work communications at least sometimes while on vacation. Thirty-nine per cent avoid taking their full vacation entitlement because they worry about falling behind, while 41 per cent report feeling guilty when taking paid time off.

Perhaps most telling: 37 per cent often or very often work extra hours before vacation simply to prepare for their absence.

These findings are worrying because they reveal a gap between what organizations say and what employees experience.

The same survey found 63 per cent of employees say their workplace encourages them to fully disconnect while on vacation, and 70 per cent report there is little or no expectation they remain reachable while away.

On paper, that sounds like progress. Yet employees are still checking emails from the beach.

Something isn’t adding up.

As someone who works in human resources, I’ve noticed workplace culture is often less about official policies and more about the signals employees receive every day.

An organization can have a generous vacation policy, encourage wellness and repeatedly tell employees to take time off. However, if workloads remain unmanageable or there is nobody available to cover responsibilities during an absence, employees quickly learn vacation comes with consequences.

The issue isn’t necessarily managers are demanding employees remain connected. In many cases, employees are creating the pressure themselves because they know what will be waiting for them when they return.

Nobody wants to come back from a relaxing week away only to face 500 unread emails, a backlog of urgent requests and a mountain of work that accumulated during their absence.

When employees know that taking five days off means spending the following two weeks trying to catch up, vacation starts to feel less like a benefit and more like a penalty.

This becomes particularly important during periods of economic uncertainty.

Many Canadians are watching headlines about inflation, interest rates, tariffs, economic slowdown and organizational restructuring. Even in workplaces where layoffs are not occurring, employees can become increasingly cautious. They may worry about appearing less committed, less productive or less available than their colleagues.

That anxiety often manifests itself in subtle ways. Employees answer emails while sitting on balconies. They take Teams calls from hotel rooms. They spend part of their vacation checking in “just in case.”

The problem is partial disconnection doesn’t provide the same recovery benefits as genuine time away from work.

Research consistently shows rest matters. Employees who take meaningful breaks return with improved focus, greater creativity, better decision-making ability and lower levels of stress. Organizations benefit from that recovery as much as employees do.

Yet many workplaces continue to treat vacation coverage as an afterthought.

If organizations genuinely want employees to disconnect, they need systems that make disconnection possible.

That starts with cross-training.

One of the simplest and most effective things employers can do is ensure critical knowledge is shared among multiple employees. Too often, organizations allow key processes to become concentrated in a single individual. When that person wants to take a week off, the entire operation feels vulnerable.

Cross-training creates resilience. It also reduces stress for the employee who no longer feels like the sole keeper of essential information.

Planning is equally important.

Employees should not be expected to work excessive overtime before vacation simply to keep things afloat. Managers can help by reviewing priorities, redistributing work where appropriate and setting realistic expectations about what can wait until the employee returns.

The reality is very few things are truly emergencies.

Many organizations would also benefit from taking a closer look at response-time expectations. We have become accustomed to immediate replies, instant updates and constant accessibility. However, not every email requires an answer within minutes.

Sometimes, the healthiest thing a workplace can do is normalize waiting.

Leaders play a significant role here.

Employees watch what leaders do far more closely than they listen to what leaders say. If managers claim to support work-life balance but continue responding to emails from vacation, employees notice. If executives proudly announce they haven’t taken a day off in two years, employees hear that message loud and clear.

Culture is often demonstrated through behaviour, not policy.

The strongest vacation cultures are built by leaders who model healthy boundaries themselves. They take their vacation. They disconnect. They trust their teams. They return refreshed and encourage others to do the same.

As we head into the summer months, organizations should view these survey results as an opportunity for reflection. If employees are still feeling guilty, anxious or overwhelmed about taking vacation, the solution is not another reminder email encouraging work-life balance.

The solution is creating the operational supports that make work-life balance achievable.

Vacation should not feel like a career risk. It should not require employees to work themselves into exhaustion before they leave or spend their time away secretly monitoring their inbox.

If organizations truly want productive, engaged and resilient employees, they need to treat rest as a business necessity rather than a personal indulgence.

After all, employees are not machines. Even the best performers need time to recharge.

And if your employees are checking emails from the dock this summer, it may be worth asking whether the problem is their commitment — or the systems you’ve built around them.

Tory McNally, CPHR, BSc., vice-president,

professional services at TIPI Legacy HR+

(formerly Legacy Bowes), is a human resource

consultant, relationship builder and problem solver. She can be reached at tmcnally@tipipartners.com