{"id":7280,"date":"2011-01-18T12:41:32","date_gmt":"2011-01-18T19:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/estherjacobs.info\/?p=7280"},"modified":"2022-08-27T17:54:11","modified_gmt":"2022-08-27T15:54:11","slug":"365-holiday-days-per-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estherjacobs.info\/en\/blog\/365-holiday-days-per-year\/","title":{"rendered":"365 holiday days per year"},"content":{"rendered":"

365 holiday days per year<\/h1>\n<\/div>

Are you one of those people who lives from holiday to holiday? Or do you count down the holiday days that are left until you can go back to work? Increasing numbers of people who have found a job that really suits them don\u2019t feel as if they are at work. I have noticed that, especially for one-man-bands, working and private lives are hugely intermingled. There are also those with a boss who have truly found a good balance. They don\u2019t mind working a bit on a Sunday afternoon. But they\u2019ll also go to the hairdressers on a weekday afternoon or spend some time with their kids. Of course there\u2019s lots of networking (read: lunches or drinks!) and all those \u2018business relations\u2019 are or become friends. You could say, therefore, that either you\u2019re always working or have the feeling you\u2019re never working! Strangely enough you rarely hear about the number of hours they work from people who have managed to divide their time as they see fit. It\u2019s a choice they\u2019ve made and are comfortable with.<\/p>\n

April\u2019s Psychology Magazine mentions 12 factors that determine whether someone\u2019s happy with their job. A number of factors apply mainly to working for a boss, but you can also apply most of them if you\u2019re a one-man-band. Instead of \u2018boss\u2019, you could read client, for example. You can test yourself by assigning each factor a grade. The higher the grade, the happier you are with that point:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Do you have sufficient influence on the content of your working day?<\/li>\n
  2. Do you use your strengths in your job?<\/li>\n
  3. Is your work \u2018averagely difficult\u2019 so that you have enough of a challenge but are not constantly stressed?<\/li>\n
  4. Is there enough variation, but not so much it stresses you?<\/li>\n
  5. Do you know what is expected of you?<\/li>\n
  6. Do you have enough social contact at work?<\/li>\n
  7. Do you have a good salary\/income?<\/li>\n
  8. Do you have a safe and pleasant working environment?<\/li>\n
  9. Is your work appreciated by yourself and others?<\/li>\n
  10. Do you have a pleasant relationship with your boss?<\/li>\n
  11. Do you have good future prospects?<\/li>\n
  12. Are staff and others treated fairly?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    One-man-band or wage slave \u2013 I notice that flexibility and the ability to define your own time are much-mentioned factors for happiness. This is also reflected in recent research by Nyenrode and the Persgroep Banen, in which a good balance between work and the private sphere and the option of dividing your own time are mentioned as the most important drivers when choosing a job. Next are the drivers \u2018challenge and development\u2019 and \u2018freedom and autonomy\u2019. Of course everyone has to have his or her own \u2018playing scope\u2019. For some freedom is a happiness factor, for others it makes them feel adrift.<\/p>\n

    Huub van Zwieten from Talentfirst.nl wrote the book \u2019365 days of holiday per year\u2019, in which he explains this phenomenon. \u2018If you\u2019re doing work you really enjoy it no longer feels like work. You have to discover your own strengths and happiness factors.\u2019 Of course, the self-appointed \u2018dream job guru\u2019 turns his theory into practice by only organizing fun events, writing books and inspiring people. I recently had a meeting with him on his boat as we traversed the Amsterdam canals. No less productive, and certainly more fun than a boring meeting room!<\/p>\n

    I am personally on a sailing trip through the Caribbean at the moment. The ultimate holiday, or merely a change in working environment? While sailing I am writing three new books, translating my book \u2018What\u2019s your excuse?\u2019 into English and promoting it in the US, setting up a coaching club for entrepreneurs, giving long-distance seminars to people who want to chase their dreams and, of course, gathering new inspiration. I just have to convince the tax authorities that I am really working, here in my bikini on the boat\u2026 Perhaps I can even declare my travel expenses? Will have to ask my accountant.<\/p>\n

    Unfortunately it\u2019s tricky creating a good working environment on a boat. Plenty of\u00a0inspiration (believe me!), but translating it into action is not easy. Especially when I need the internet. We first have to enter a port, have Wi-Fi reception, or mess around in an internet caf\u00e9 with the ubiquitous slow connection. It all makes me painfully aware that I am at work, while this is normally so seamless. And this is the issue. Should I switch of my \u2018inspiration button\u2019? Or make more of an effort to spend more time on the www? In both cases I feel a little guilty. Don\u2019t get me wrong: the sailing is superb and island hopping is a unique experience! But strangely enough I very occasionally find myself counting the days until I can \u2018get back to work normally\u2019\u2026<\/p>\n

    Published in VCV Magazine, July 2010<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

    <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

    Want to become a digital nomad?<\/h2>\n

    Do you want to become a digital nomad?<\/p>\n

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    Then learn from my 35 years of entrepreneurial experience, including nearly 20 years of location independence.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m here to help with:<\/p>\n