When the holidays arrive, many people start thinking about resting and disconnecting for a few days. But in HR it is not always that simple.
I am Nara, the mascot of HR professionals, and today I want to talk to you about a skill that is especially important at this time of year: learning to rest even when things are left pending.
In HR, being available, anticipating problems and supporting other people is part of the daily routine. Over time, that way of working can make resting harder than it seems.
When you disconnect, several worries tend to appear at once: the need to leave everything closed, the urge to keep checking that everything is fine, or the difficulty of trusting that things can carry on without you.
Sometimes the holidays start before the rest does. Your head stays busy with pending matters, conversations left open or decisions to pick up again on your return, and disconnecting takes longer than expected.
Here are three skills that can help you park, for a few days, some of the responsibilities that occupy your attention the rest of the year.
Skill 1
Permission to leave without having finished
The mind tends to keep incomplete matters active so as not to forget them. That is why, when something is left open before the holidays, it can keep popping up even though you can no longer do anything about it.
The way to help your mind is not always to finish it, but to give it a provisional closure. You can leave defined what is missing, who it depends on and when it will be picked up again. For example:
“This matter is pending confirmation and I will pick it up again on 2 September.”
The matter remains open, but it stops floating around. Often the mind does not need everything to be resolved in order to let go. It just needs to know it is not abandoned.
Skill 2
Deactivating the availability reflex
Checking email during the holidays can produce an immediate feeling of relief. For a few minutes it seems that everything is back under control.
The downside is that this relief does not last long. After a while the doubt reappears, along with the temptation to check again. Before opening your email, it can help to ask yourself a simple question:
“Is there something that really requires my attention, or do I simply find it hard not to know what is going on?”
The answer will not always be the same, but asking yourself this question helps you distinguish a real need from an acquired habit. Each check may seem small, but it also means devoting part of your rest to staying on top of work.
Skill 3
Trusting in order to rest
Resting means accepting that things will keep happening in your absence and that other people may resolve them differently. Before you leave, two questions can help you:
“What do I need to leave prepared before I go?”
“What do I need to accept that I will no longer be able to control?”
The first helps you leave things organised; the second, to disconnect more easily. Trusting does not mean everything will be done exactly as you would do it. It means accepting that work can continue without you having to intervene in every decision.
Humántica®
Sometimes we think that resting simply consists of not working for a few days. But for rest to be restorative, the body also needs to come out of alert mode, the mind needs to stop watching over what is pending, and emotion needs to let go of what it has been holding for too long.
At Humántica® we understand that wellbeing appears when body, mind and emotion can recover that balance.
When I watch the Imantia team work, I notice they try to leave clarity, anticipate whatever might create unease and make the process simple for those coordinating it from HR. Because taking care of a learning experience also means taking care of the person who makes it possible from inside the organisation.
I will still be around, watching closely how you work… and also learning from everything you hold together every day. I hope you have a restorative holiday.
And who knows, maybe at some point we will bump into each other at the Imantia office. I almost always accompany Berta M. in her meetings with HR.
— Nara
PS: What do you find hardest to let go of when your holidays begin?
