Out of Office… and Still Overwhelmed? Rethinking Vacation Culture at Work

Elizabeth Eldridge
Jul 10
5 min read

Summer is finally here, and you're excited about some downtime you've got scheduled. You work hard, and you know you need a break. So why does your out-of-office reply read like an apology?

Vacation time is supposed to be about resting, recharging and reconnecting with life outside of work. But for too many employees, taking time off feels more stressful than staying on the job. Whether it's the anxiety of falling behind, the guilt of being unavailable or the inbox refreshes from a beach lounger "just in case something urgent comes up," a lot of us aren’t actually resting even when we’re on vacation.

So what’s going on here? And what can workplaces do to change the script?

Breaks Aren’t a Bonus. They’re Essential.

It’s not just extended vacation time that matters; our day-to-day patterns play a huge role in how well we function. Even during a regular workday, our brains need opportunities to pause and reset. Without short breaks throughout the day, our focus fades, our cognitive load increases and we become far more prone to errors, disengagement and exhaustion.

We tend to think of breaks as something we earn through productivity, but science shows it’s actually the other way around. When we rest, we reset our cognitive resources, improve focus and boost creativity. Without rest, performance declines even when effort increases.

One popular example of a time-based productivity strategy is the Pomodoro Technique, which encourages working in 25-minute focused sprints, followed by 5-minute breaks. After four “Pomodoros,” you take a longer (15-30 minute) break. It’s a simple, structured way to stay mentally fresh throughout the day.

But here’s the thing: there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to productivity. Different people work in different rhythms, and the best workplaces trust employees to find what works best for them. Here are a few other well-supported approaches to productivity and rest cycles:

1. Ultradian Rhythm Method

Our brains operate in natural 90-minute cycles of high alertness followed by a dip in focus. This method encourages working deeply for about 90 minutes, then stepping away for 15-20 minutes to fully reset. It mirrors the way elite athletes train, with bursts of intense effort followed by real recovery.

2. The 52/17 Rule

This productivity pattern came from a study by the DeskTime app (read more about it HERE), which tracked the habits of top-performing employees. The most productive people worked for 52 minutes, then took a 17-minute break. The key? During the break, they fully disconnected: no emails, no multitasking, just real rest.

3. Time Blocking

Rather than working reactively, time blocking involves dividing your day into chunks of focused work, admin time, breaks and meetings. By assigning clear blocks to different tasks (including rest), you reduce decision fatigue and protect your energy for the work that matters most. This is my personal favourite, and one that works well for my Type A brain!

4. The Two-Minute Reset

Not all breaks need to be long. Brief mental pauses — even just two minutes of stretching, stepping outside or deep breathing — can disrupt cognitive overload and restore mental clarity. These micro-breaks are especially powerful when taken between tasks or meetings.

The key takeaway? Great leaders give their teams the space and trust to experiment. Productivity isn’t about squeezing out every minute of output. It’s about building sustainable focus.

Cognitive Load: The Quiet Drain on Your Brain

Ever feel mentally exhausted after a day of back-to-back meetings, even if you didn’t “do” much? That’s cognitive load at play. It refers to the amount of mental effort being used in our working memory at any given time. And when it’s maxed out, your brain simply can’t process or perform efficiently.

Think of your brain like a web browser. Each task is a tab. When too many tabs are open, everything slows down… or crashes altogether.

Between constant notifications, high expectations and multitasking, many workers are burning out from the inside out. Without regular rest both during the day and throughout the year, that load becomes unsustainable. Productivity nosedives, mistakes happen and burnout sets in.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ve heard me talk lots about how taking a proactive stance on employee wellness is a major opportunity for employers (and a major risk if it’s not done). Taking a real vacation — one where you’re truly disconnected, supported and uninterrupted — isn’t a luxury. It’s maintenance!

The Modern Vacation Paradox

Some organizations have caught on. In fact, a growing number now require employees to use their vacation time. The concept is sound, but time off doesn’t serve its intended purpose if employees feel like they can’t actually disconnect.

Here’s the common pain point:

“I’d love to take time off, but I know I’ll come back to 300 emails and a week’s worth of problems stacked on my desk.”

Or worse:

“Even when I’m away, I have to keep one eye on my phone to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.”

When that’s the norm, vacation starts to feel like just another stressor.

Making Vacation Actually Work

Taking time off shouldn’t be a punishment or a risk. And it shouldn’t depend on whether you have a superstar team willing to pick up the slack.

It’s the organization’s responsibility to make vacation both possible and healthy for everyone.

That means:

Ensuring proper coverage is in place
Communicating the plan clearly to the employee ahead of time
Reassuring employees that boundaries will be respected
Setting expectations that when someone’s off, they’re truly off

Too often, coverage plans are vague or nonexistent. Employees head out on vacation unsure of what will happen in their absence, or worse, expecting to check in constantly just to keep the wheels turning. That’s not rest. And it’s not sustainable.

A Culture That Supports Rest

If you want your people to take care of the work, you need to take care of the people.

That means building a culture that:

Models healthy boundaries, especially from leadership
Normalizes time off and treats it as necessary, not negotiable
Empowers employees to find productivity strategies that work for them
Prioritizes planning so time off doesn’t feel like a burden to others

When employees feel safe to step away, they’re far more likely to come back engaged, focused and ready to do their best work.

Final Thoughts

You can’t expect peak performance from a burnt-out brain.

If we want teams that are innovative, committed and thriving, we have to stop treating rest like it’s a perk. Time off isn’t a reward for working hard; it’s a requirement for working well.

So take the vacation. Build the culture that supports it. And remember: no one does their best work with one eye on the beach and the other on their inbox.

Elizabeth Eldridge is a Psychological Health & Safety Consultant based in southern New Brunswick, Canada. In addition to keynote speaking and corporate training on mental health in the workplace, she supports organizations across the country on the adoption of Canada's best practice guidelines on psychological health and safety management. She is the Founder & President of Arpeggio Health Services which provides standardized education programs like Mental Health First Aid, The Working Mind, QPR Suicide Prevention and more.