"Summer Slowdown" is On the Endangered Species List
Is it me or is it everyone? I worked my butt off during the last week in August! The week started with a post hurricane new business pitch (Monday) and ended with a late Friday business meeting in Phoenix (the day before the big holiday, no less). And this was the story around the entire office, and within the offices of clients and friends.
As our European clients were basking in the south of France, we Americans toiled hard this summer. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I love to work. I just find it odd how times have changed.
When I first started working, the last week of August was dead—it was a week to clean out your desk or head home at 3pm. No more. I guess the August slow down is going the way of "proper lunches" (drinking your face off at a lunch meeting for business) or the fax machine.
As I sat down this week and reflected upon just how busy the “Pre-Labor Day Season” was this year I was brought to this conclusion: It’s a work hard play hard world we live in. We must be prepared to work like crazy when we are on, and try to shut it down when we're off. As our agency gets larger we have the luxury of larger teams that can back one another up when vacation time comes. We must make a commitment to letting folks “chill” when on PTO (within reason, we are a PR firm at the end of the day). So - work hard, play hard, and plan backup. And, as Mark Kollar’s son always says "nut up or shut up." 