Out Of Office: The Next Frontier of Wellness

Hi, I'm on annual leave until January 8. I'll be deleting all emails upon my return, so please re-send your email after January 8 if you'd like me to see it. Kind Regards (someone who obviously values their mental health)

Wow. This automatic email (which landed in my inbox this morning) shook me to my core. This email is to standardised corporate etiquette what the Communist Manifesto was to Capitalism. Doesn't this revolutionary know that it's a commonly accepted practice to undo all of the relaxation you accrued whilst sipping cocktails on a beach the moment you view your inbox? The sense of dread one feels when seeing triple figures in bold is the slap in the face you deserve for taking your holiday. This is your reality. You only temporarily relieved yourself of your duty to think about your work 24/7 and now it is time to pay the price. By lunchtime, you're down to the mid-nineties and all of a sudden the beach you had been lying on three days previously feels like a lifetime ago.

Not so for this charlatan. She has given herself a reprieve from the first-day-back-stress-headache and I couldn't be more impressed with her moxie. In an era of 'Wellness Wednesdays', 'Flexible Fridays' and all of the other alliterative fads, why don't we start with some of the basics of creating a healthy and happy workforce? Australia is already behind the leading nations when it comes to annual leave. Didn't you ever wonder why Bondi Beach is full of smiling German and Swedish tourists every single day of the year? It probably has to do with the fact that they, along with the French, Finnish and a host of other Europeans, receive on average 30 days of paid annual leave. And they take it.

Two years ago the French took it even further (typical) and passed a 'right to disconnect' law, taking away the (mostly tacit) expectation that we should be answering emails about next year's forecast when we want to be watching Game of Thrones in our pajamas. The French come to work everyday with their amazing coffee and spectacular bread-based foodstuffs and get on with their job. Then they go home to eat some magnificent cheese and drink some sumptuous wine, safe in the knowledge that they can finish whatever they were working on tomorrow.

Conversely, our culture of never switching off is downright dangerous. Just quickly checking your emails whilst sipping an espresso on Sunday morning. Replying to something urgent Friday night after dinner whilst your kids are watching Ice Age 4. Working all weekend on a proposal that is due Monday because you really want that promotion over Dave, who you know is working on it right now. This behaviour is silently damaging and we know it. Whether it effects your sleep, your stress-levels, your relationships or all of the above, it is not conducive to a long and happy life. We work hard enough that when we go on holidays, it should be time for us to completely switch off, recharge and enjoy the pleasures in life that don't involve boardrooms and conference calls.

In 2014, the German vehicle-maker Daimler did exactly what that brilliant peer of mine did - they simply banned out of office email replies. And it hasn't hurt them. They profited €164.3 billion last year, up 7% year-on-year. No wonder the Mercedes Benz that Belinda from accounts recently bought looks so good - it was designed by a team that had a relaxing holiday! They were probably at Bondi Beach!

So spare me Yoga @ The Office and the unlimited supply of green tea. All I want is to be able to take my 20 government-mandated days in peace and return to be the best version of myself.

Let's make this the next frontier of wellness at work.