Why do people check their work emails even on holidays?

Although I decided to spend my long-awaited holiday away from work, many people have had the experience of not being able to relax because they just checked their work emails on their smartphones and PCs. Associate Professor Dan Kepler of the University of Sydney Business School explains why you check your work emails on your days off and how you don't have to.

Here's why you're checking work emails on holidays (and how to stop)
https://theconversation.com/heres-why-youre-checking-work-emails-on-holidays-and-how-to-stop-148720

Even though it's a holiday, I'm worried about work emails, or I remember my work requirements and send emails, so it's a problem that I can't get my work out of my mind. Kepler points out that the reason why switching from work mode to vacation mode isn't working may be that 'work has become a strong identity.'

Humans are anxious for the answer to the question 'Who am I?', And one of the answers to this is in the daily activities. Of course, work is also included in daily activities, and it seems that it can be an entity that forms an identity, whether it is a work of your choice or a work that you have no choice but to do.

Work-related identities include 'professional identity' based on the profession itself, such as 'I am a lawyer', 'organizational identity' based on the organization to which I belong, such as 'I am an employee of Google', and There are performance-based identities such as 'I am the best worker in the workplace'.

Forming a work-based identity has many benefits in itself, helping to improve work motivation and performance as well as health . However, having a strong work-based identity also hinders the switch from work mode to vacation mode.

People have multiple identities, but the relative scope and combination of identities is individual. If work-related identities occupy a central position for you, you are more likely to think about your work not only at work, but also after work or on vacation. Kepler points out that people whose work is their identity are not forced by their bosses, they can't imagine any other way than their own work, and as a result they also work on holidays.

If work is part of your identity, you may want to consider doing digital detox , keeping things that remind you of work, such as smartphones and PCs, away from your surroundings and refraining from using digital products for a period of time. Hmm. Efforts to separate work and private life, such as with digital detox, are becoming increasingly important as many people are losing the distinction between work and home due to the increase in telecommuting associated with the pandemic of the new coronavirus.

In addition, Kepler advocates a measure that focuses on 'my identity' by moving away objects that stimulate work identities and then placing 'things that stimulate other identities' around me. I will. For example, if you are playing tennis as a hobby, you can put a tennis racket in a place where you can see the guitar, and if you are playing music, you can stimulate your identity other than work.

Another option is to acquire a new non-work identity. It's hard to find new identities that you haven't had before, but Kepler said it could be an effective antidote for those suffering from work-based identities. I am.

On the other hand, trying to 'do not think about work at all during the holidays' may have the opposite effect. Research has shown that if you try to suppress a particular thought, you will think about it, so if you think about a job, accept it once and then naturally think about something else. It seems that it is good to move.

'The ultimate goal is to make the most of your precious time away from work by seeing yourself as a'complex entity defined by more than work',' Kepler said. Said.