Getting weekends off at work is hard but surely not the most difficult thing to do. If you really want to get a holiday during the weekend, make sure to give this post a good read.
In this post, we will discuss with you how to get the weekends off from work and convince your boss to let you do so.
Even though we aren’t experts, our advice surely is taken from some of the best people in the business. Therefore give this post a good read and let us know in the end if that helped you!
Why You Should Stop Working on the Weekends – for Your Health?
A recent survey by Enterprise Rent-A-Car of 1,000 Americans ages 25 and older found that 67% of respondents worked on a typical weekend, primarily by reading and answering work-related emails. As per the same report, working on weekends has become very common for US people. Around 63% of employees said their employers expect them to work on weekends, and 61% said they have a difficult time not thinking about work over the weekend.
Many employees think that Working on weekends or working long hours would yield them better results but its just a myth. It does not do any good to your professional life and also can hinder their health in many ways. Some of the common problems which employees experience if worked for long hours are,
- Over drinking
- Insomnia problems
- Depression
- Heart problems
- Type 2 diabetes
- Relationship conflicts
- No work-life balance
“If you don’t have a start and an end to a week, then it’s just one long continuous work week, which can be problematic,” says Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and performance coach in New York City and author of the book “Be Fearless: Change Your Life In 28 Days”.
“Working excessive weekend hours can also damage your mental health“, says Mayra Mendez, a licensed psychotherapist and program coordinator for intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health services at Providence Saint John’s Child and Family Development Center in Santa Monica, California.
Working is a very important part of life for a living, but we should not make the mistake of making your work as your life. Now if you are one of them who spends most of their time working even on weekends, here are few strategies and tips professionals recommend to help you avoid such a habit of working on weekends and enjoy your days off and de-stress:
- Change your way of thinking
- Give yourself a break from work
- Manage your stress issues
- Maintain a work-life balance
- Change your routine
- Get your devices a break at least on weekends
- Don’t habituate to oversleeping
Getting Weekends Off:
The following mentioned are few important tips to avoid working for the weekend.
1. Give Friday a good ending:
If you want your weekends off, it is highly important that you end the week right. It is actually pretty hard to relax during Saturdays and in case you haven’t been able to return some of the most important calls or maybe a market report that you weren’t able to submit on Friday. So what you need to do is take care of all of these things before you may leave.
We don’t live in a perfect world but we can make some things perfect by working hard for. So just plan things a bit in advance and work your butt off. In that way, you will not be stressed and get the week off.
2. Ask your boss directly to leave you early:
A second thing you can try is a request for some time early. Ideally, there is no need to be doing this. In case there is not, you obviously do not have much time to waste.
You don’t have to go to your boss with some requests during the last minute or even after people have already done this.
Of course, there shall be no one to help you cover all the bases when other people are out, so there are chances your boss will not be saying yes to this.
3. Be as specific as you can:
If you want to work during or on the weekend, you should be clear on how this will help you. It is quite easy to get all caught up in some tasks you are doing, especially if you are trying to become creative.
If you are very comfortable in devoting your weekend to work, then just stay in that mode and keep working. But in case you have other plans and would like to spend time with family people, then plan the time out and make sure you have a plan of when you will begin and when you will end.
Promise yourself you will finish the work week properly so that your boss can say yes to let you go and enjoy your weekend by making the most of it.
4. Come up with a plan for your boss:
In case you have been pushed away already by your boss when you asked for the weekends off, you should always be prepared with reasons that are obvious as to why he or she does not have to be worried.
You can outline them verbally and send him an email as a follow up with the details of who shall be covering all your duties when you are outside the office and if you will be able to finish all the given assignments early or even wait until you come to finish all of them.
If it is the last case, then you will have to explain to them why this work can go on the back until the holidays are over.
5. Tell everyone that you have a plan:
If you have friends and colleagues who are often accustomed to working, there are chances they will not text you with questions that are related to work even when you are out hanging with your pals.
You should always tell them in advance that you won’t be available and that you shall only be there in some hours. It is always easier for people to respect those boundaries when you are setting them.
6. Try to see if you can barter your time:
If you really want the off on weekend for something important, then offer your boss that you would like to work on New Year’s Eve for that colleague who is hoping to stay engaged that entire night.
According to a career consultant, you may find other people who also feel the need to take the time off but during another day. You can switch workdays with them so that work is completed and that nobody is at a loss. We think that will definitely work well for you!
7. Come up with a text that is written from before:
Yes, it is quite difficult to ignore all text messages or even turn your phone off and keep it on silent for hours. If you are feeling compelled to leave the phone on just in case there is some emergency, we think you should prepare yourself in advance so that you really don’t have to think so much if any work-related text comes your way.
It will take some effort but if you want to use the idea of pre-written texts, then you will have to train yourself to work that way.
8. Try to negotiate:
Another thing you can always try and we are hoping it will work is negotiating with your boss. You should never be afraid to ask them for time off. The founder of Hiring Solved thinks that when you are trying to negotiate, always make a proposal that is reasonable, especially when you are making that request.
You can always offer them a trade-off. In exchange of that, you can ask them to volunteer in return of leaving you for the weekend.
9. Show them that you are worth the holiday:
If you want to show that you are worth being off the weekend, prove it to your boss. Finish your weekend work on time. In fact, finish all your projects faster than you are expected to. Do not overdo anything now. Just prove it to them that you are hardworking and do deserve to stay at home in the weekend.
10. Come up with a list of things you won’t do:
There are several people who find it pretty difficult to say no because they really don’t want others to get disappointed. Just always remember that it is highly important that you take some time alone and be by yourself.
It could actually help if you make a list of all the requests that you have approved of and the ones you will just not entertain anymore.
In this way, when people ask you, there is no need to think about it in detail. You just have to promise yourself that you won’t do something today.
11. Be on your best behaviour:
Another thing you can try doing is being on your best behaviour. This is your time to show that you are the best and that you can definitely take the weekends off and enjoy the weekend.
Don’t be caught in an argument with someone, be calm and friendly with everyone. Try ways that help people like and respect you. Help others with their tasks and try to make a good impression on not just your boss but also colleagues and other managers. All of this really does matter!
12. Ask if you will be allowed to work back at home:
Of course, it is not the same thing as working in the office, but of course, you will be able to spare yourself and spend some more time with friends and family.
Depending on the job and the field that you are currently working in, you probably will not be able to speak to your boss or even ask them for the matter to give them the day off on one condition, that you shall be available to them from your phone or even email when it comes to working hours. They can ask you some important questions during this time as well.
13. Try to keep a check on your mental state:
When you are relaxing or chilling with your friends during brunch, you should ask yourself whether you are really present there, are you doing something for the sake of it. Are you even being mindful and giving them the entire attention they deserve or is your mind actually wandering off somewhere else.
When you are aware of yourself, it will actually be pretty easy to catch your own self and come back straight to the moment. But always remember that you might still be able to finish work later if you really want without even stressing about it so much right now.
14. Remember what this is all for:
There are times when my thoughts related to work and some of the worries seem urgent- like you might have to outline some article inside your head or maybe you will not be able to reach any of your professional goals.
I always try to catch those ideas and then I simply replace them with ideas like even if I do not enjoy of what is in front of me, there is surely no point of keeping any goals that are professional because I shall not be able to have fun with what I have when I have it.
15. Make use of things that help you relax:
When I feel like my mind is distracted and I don’t feel like doing anything, I always do a breathing exercise. For this one, all you have to do is hold the nostrils, breath in and out deeply and then just switch the grip so that the other nostril is closed. Now you will have to breathe out through the other nostril.
If you can take this exercise and repeat it for a total of five times, you will feel at peace. You will calm somewhere right inside. This could actually be your moment. It will let you do whatever you want and in that way, you can enjoy and stay happy.
16. Some planning always works:
It is also important that you plan out your weeks. Whenever I have a gap in my work, I always feel like hanging out with my friends, playing a few games on my laptop or doing something that I enjoy doing. I also have enough time to plan the rest of my day.
Now, this does not mean that have to keep doing something throughout the day, all you have to do is commit yourself to the blocks of time whenever you are exercising, watch your favourite film and do anything that you enjoy doing. This one act could make work and life so much easier as far as you commit to it.
17. Say that everyone is doing it:
There are some industries where the work tends to pile up at the end of the year since you were so busy taking the time off throughout the year. If this happens to be your problem, it could be a good thing if you took the matter to your boss and spoke to him about it.
Of course, it would not be a very productive thing to do if everyone that you have needed to call or even met is still laying back at home wearing their nightgowns and sweatshirts.
Ways to Ensure You’ll Always Have the Weekends Off:
Working continuously all the time will make you exhausted and tired, even if you try to push more, you will not be able to maintain a better quality of your work. Taking a toll on your health for the sake of work is not at all right, as your health is more important than anything else.
You might have heard the famous quote which goes as “Health is wealth“. This is absolutely right and fits this topic perfectly. Now if you want to make sure you have the weekends off, follow the ways mentioned below:
- Black Out Your Free Time
- Limit the kind of work you usually do on Weekends
- Manage Your working days better to avoid over piling of work
Important Things You Will Understand if Work on Weekends:
Though working for long hours and even on weekends sounds too ethical, but there are few employees who have no choice left but to work continuously. Enlisted here are a few things that you will be able to relate easily if you work on weekends.
- You will not be able to meet your friends and family regularly
- Friday nights are not a party time
- You are left out of most of the things all the time
- You feel sorry for yourself while others are having fun
- You get an image of party spoiler by your friends when you don’t turn on weekends
- Others think you are slacking on your days off
- You’re jealous when your partner takes your kids to the park
- Your kids won’t understand
- You do your shopping alone at odd times
- Extra pay is an emotional roller coaster
- You always get stuffed up with your work and workmates
- Weekends off seems to be meaningless
Professions which provide more time off:
The jobs which offer more time off are unlike any regular 9-5 job. Here are few careers that gives away more weekends off, they are
- Cruise ship employees
- K-12 teachers
- Airline pilots
Jobs which provide unusual time off are
- Air traffic controllers
- Nurses
- Firefighters
Conclusion:
This brings the post about weekends off at work to an end. If you have liked reading this post and have some interesting ideas you would like to give us, please feel free to comment on the box below. We would love to hear from you!
Also always remember that these tips are tried and tested and most of them promise great results. On that note, good luck and make sure you follow all of this. In case you have any questions, drop them down below.
