Switch off

I’m just back in the office after a fantastic 10 days in France with extended family. Nothing hugely remarkable about that, other than for me it was the first holiday that I didn’t check my work emails, not even once. For the control freak in me that surfaces daily when I enter the office at 7.45am, this was huge. I never take a day off without checking in, answering questions, or following up on something that could absolutely wait until the next day when I am physically in the office.

10 days of going cold turkey was completely refreshing and it turns out the office can totally function without me, who knew! Well, my colleagues knew of course, but after so many years of working in the same way and feeling like I should be present at work for every opportunity, even when on holiday, this was news to me. I’ve never fully switched off when on holiday and have always had the niggling feeling that I could and should be doing more. I’ll stress this feeling came from no one other than the myself – darn that work ethic of mine.

I didn’t choose to do this because I don’t care about the candidates who are registered with me, far from it. I did to completely switch off and be present in my holiday, with my family knowing fully that my candidates were in the incredibly capable hands of my colleagues at Leapfrog. Work doesn’t stop just because you aren’t there. With the right team supporting each other, things just carry on and the level of service doesn’t change at all, candidates are just dealing with someone different, but who still has your best interests at the forefront of everything they are doing. That’s the beauty of Leapfrog and everyone who works here, we have the same mindset and attitude towards the role we play in a person’s journey in securing a new role. Before this holiday somewhere along the line I’d forgotten that its possible to step away, guilt free and really just be present, much like we all did before laptops or emails on phones. Ah I miss those days! 

I’m having to retrain myself and that’s not easy, especially as I’m not a huge fan of change (same hairstyle for 35 years to confirm that) but so far, it’s been completely worth it. It’s given me a clearer, refreshed outlook stepping back into the office.

I’ll admit staying in a place that’s this fantastic and all within 3 hours of St Malo made the switch off a tad easier!

#leapfrog #switchoff #teamwork