One strange professional trait still considered a virtue in this age of ‘work-life‘ balance is not taking leave from office. Taking pride for not availing perfectly legitimate time off has its origin in far too many people making not working, slacking off or playing hookey perfectly kosher, almost a birthright. Thus, the ‘Protestant work ethic‘ is taken to its most illogical extreme – of not switching off from work at all. Last week, at least on two occasions, two people – one teacher on Teacher’s Day, the other a prime minister after an RTI enquiry – were applauded for forgoing holidays. The teacher has not ‘missed school for a day’ for the last 11 years, and ‘no leave has been availed’ by the prime minister for the last nine-odd years. Frankly, this is worrying, not laudable.
Not taking leave from work – and making a big deal of it – gives taking legitimate leave an unwarranted sheen of unprofessionalism. ‘Never take leave’ is the mission statement of the self-righteous and makes for the proverbial Jack being a dull boy. Our take: take leave, relish your perfectly deserved and legit off days, ensure you switch off when you’re off. It’ll better the quality of your work, which is what is paramount. Taking leave is healthy and should be a must. It certainly will make you less of a chump for folks who take advantage of your work fetish.
