What summer slump? It's warp-speed 365 days of the year

Laying on the beach, catching a wave or hiking a trail with your seven-year-old and a work call or email comes through.

Whether you have dependents or are foot-loose and fancy-free of commitments - we’ve all had the experience of work intruding our hard earned vacation.

Time off is no longer 'time off' and during the summer months when vacation time kicks in and school is out, everyone becomes a little more aware of just how intense the constant go of our 24/7 digital world has become.

It’s becoming impossible for most to keep up with the pace of change, and how quickly results are expected today. As Deloitte recently observed, “Fifty years after the formulation of Moore’s Law, processing, and computing power continue to grow exponentially, driving advances in robotics and machine learning…The challenge requires major cross-functional attention, effort, and collaboration.” In a world where there’s an app for everything, it’s bringing to the forefront a more agile career model.

Finding a balance between keeping up and preventing burnout is a major challenge facing individuals in organizations today. How do we continue to compete in a 24/7 cycle as mere mortals with biological needs and a life outside of the office whether it be virtual or physical? Before cell phones and email, you just didn’t call someone at home.

The 60-hour work week was glorified as a badge of honour and success. Under the digital model, workers struggle to set boundaries to prevent the constant 24/7 bombardment regardless of the hour or activity. Sitting on the beach at your dream destination will not prevent a work email or call from coming through. It’s a challenge.

Today’s world requires quicker response times to create faster results than ever before. We are moving at a demanding pace. It’s hard to get things done during the summer from scheduling meetings to hitting deadlines - especially when people schedule a slower pace of life in the summer. On top of that, summer has this way of throwing everything into chaos when it comes to the world of work.

Across the board, companies are asking what happens when technology moves faster than humans? Everyone is having trouble keeping pace. Burnout and exhaustion make us less productive, likely to quit, change job or in the worst case take medical leave. The lines between work and personal are blurred and continue to blur more as we see ourselves in an always-on context. Social profiles and activity exemplify this phenomenon too. In a digital reality, it's always on.

However, one company I know works this out very well. My creative technology solutions client has 9,000 employees and they close the entire operation for a week - every July! No-one reads emails, no-one got back to me on 3 assignments and almost everyone had his or her out of office note actively telling people very clearly they would respond when they returned from vacation. When they returned to the office, they are refreshed and everything returned to 100 mph normal with the usual late night emails and weekend communications. Maybe having an all company lights out situation is the answer?

For everyone else, the reality is tough. Results drive businesses and there seems to be little time to slow down. From entry level to CEO, talent must engage in constant learning in real-time to keep up with the technology and pace of change. It's our modern day Catch-22. I wonder what Joseph Heller would have made of it?

Meanwhile, companies are finding it near impossible to keep pace with the big shifts at an organizational level. Nimble, agile talent is at a premium. The name of the game is about adaptation. Time doesn't stop. 

According to Deloitte's 2017 Human Capital Report, “Given the pace of change and the constant pressure to adapt, it is not surprising that executives identified building the organization of the future as the most important challenge for 2017.” It’s the greatest challenge facing the c-suite.

With this pace of change, building a 21st Century organization is a major challenge because companies are not able to adapt quickly enough to the demands of the digital world. Everything is expected to happen now. Under this new model, learning is constant and the half-life of critical skills is five years.

So what do we do? I heard about something radical this week and I'm yet to see it as a bonafide company philosophy around the idea of 'invest and train your employees to tackle the future so you don't need to suffer layoffs and replace them at the next disruption'.

One step to putting the idea into practice is to provide employees with continuous feedback and coaching in order to keep pace. My recommendation on how to make that a reality is to have every CEO and manager read Radical Candor, by Kim Scott and with some conscious effort, you'll probably develop the culture you dream of.

In our 365/24/7 always-on age, we require a new way of seeing the relationship between employee and employers. It requires a flexible relationship to adapt to new demands. It requires a constant feedback loop and transparency. It requires setting self-imposed boundaries and a better organization in terms of automating much of your daily life and unloading the unessential tasks to be able to focus on what’s really important.

In our constant go-go-go world, we want to perform at our best. In order to do so, take the time to work out how to refuel your energy in order to be able to move FORWARD.

Caroline Stokes is founder of Forward + The Emotionally Intelligent Recruiter.

Executive Headhunter, Executive Coach, Emotional Intelligence trainer for recruiters, Forbes contributor and Podcast host of The Emotionally Intelligent Recruiter - to move innovation leaders forward in the new technology revolution.

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