Spring Break Pledge Helps Leaders & Employees Commit to a Liberating Email-Free Vacation

The Pledge, developed by communication expert, David Grossman, offers 8 critical steps to unplug on vacation

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Mar 10, 2015, 08:50 ET

CHICAGO, March 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Each spring employees head off on spring break – a time typically set aside to relax and recharge – but few people are able to do so because they're tethered to their work email. It's a problem that not only affects vacation time, but it also impacts employee productivity levels and work-life balance.

According to recent research, 42% of employees feel obligated to check their email during vacation and one in 10 check their email on an hourly basis.¹

The Email-Free Vacation Pledge: Eight Great Steps to Unplug & Recharge was developed by leadership and communication expert, David Grossman, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA and Founder and CEO of The Grossman Group. It's designed to -- in a few quick steps -- set anyone up for the email-free vacation they deserve.

"We have helped many of our clients reduce email overload in their organizations and help their employees make the best use of this important workplace tool," says Grossman. "We like to model the behaviors we suggest to our clients so a few years ago I took a vacation and disconnected from email.

"It was liberating. And it happened because I gave myself permission—and set myself up—to step away from work, knowing if an issue arose, my team knew how to get in touch with me. Now I disconnect from email on every vacation."

It's in that spirit that Grossman developed The Email-Free Vacation Pledge, which includes 8 steps anyone can take today to ensure a vacation is email free and doesn't turn into a "workcation."

For more on The Email-Free Vacation Pledge click here.

¹ Randstad, Forbes Insights

About David Grossman
A leading consultant, speaker and author, David Grossman is one of America's foremost authorities on communication inside organizations. He is Founder and CEO of The Grossman Group, an award-winning Chicago-based leadership and communications consultancy that focuses on organizational consulting, strategic leadership development and internal communications for Fortune 500 clients. A frequent media source, David provides expert commentary and analysis on employee and leadership issues. He's been featured on "NBC Nightly News", WSJ.com, Today.com, in the Chicago Tribune, LA Times, and CBS MoneyWatch, among others. His forthcoming book is "No Cape Needed: The Simplest, Smartest, Fastest Steps To Improve How You Communicate By Leaps and Bounds." It's due out in June 2015.