休假期间如何处理工作邮件？

This is my first holiday in my new job at a small creative media group. Before I left I set up an out-of-office email, but on day one of my holiday I got a message from my boss (founder of company and total workaholic) saying that out-of-office messages look unprofessional, and I ought to keep on top of vital emails while away. I feel inclined to email back to say I worked my guts out the past six months and need a break. What do you think?

这是我在一家小型创意媒体公司的新工作的第一个假期。休假前，我设置了一封不在办公室的电子邮件，但在我休假的第一天，我就从我的老板(公司创始人，一个十足的工作狂)那里收到一封邮件，说不在办公室的邮件看上去不职业化，我应该在休假时继续处理重要电子邮件。我想回信说过去6个月我已经拼命工作了，我现在需要休息。您怎么看?

If there is one thing less relaxing than emailing on holiday it is being furious with your boss. So stop it. He has told you what he expects, and if you want to keep the job, you must go along with it.

如果有一件事比在度假时撰写电邮还让人不愉快的，那就是跟你的老板生气。所以不要这样做吧。他已经告诉你他的想法了，如果你想继续留住这份工作的话，你就必须听从他的建议。

In any case he is right: you ought to check your messages when you are away. Lots of us think that to do so is mad, bad and dangerous to your mental health. But I’m not so sure. I remember what holidays were like in the pre-email age. There was a mad rush to finish everything off and tie up loose ends before you went away, which meant you were so wound up that it took most of the holiday to relax. No sooner had you done so than it was time to go back to work, where mountains of work awaited, which you, in your newslack state, were quite unequal to doing.

无论如何，他都是对的：你应该在休假时查看你的邮件。很多人认为这样做让人抓狂，败坏心情，而且对心理健康不利。但我不那么认为。我还记得在电子邮件问世之前休假是什么样子。人们会在休假前疯狂地快速结束一切，完成收尾工作，这意味着你会非常紧张，以至于假期的多数时间都被用来放松。而你刚刚放松下来，就又该重新工作了，堆积如山的工作在等着你，而正处于新的懒散状态的你是应付不过来的。

The BlackBerry put an end to all that. You need to email on holiday simply because everyone else does. It is how business is now done. According to one survey, about 90 per cent of us look at work messages on holiday. For all your indignation, you are part of that number already: even you couldn’t stop yourself checking your messages, which was why you found this one from your boss – and thank goodness you did, or you might have been in deeper water on your return.

黑莓结束了这一切。你需要在休假时收发电子邮件，这只是因为其他人也这样做。现在就是这样。根据一项调查，我们中间约90%的人会在休假时查看工作邮件。尽管你对此感到愤慨，但你已经是这部分人中的一员了：连你也忍不住查看邮件，不然也不会看到老板发来的邮件了，谢天谢地，你看到了他的信息，否则，在你休假完毕重新上班时你的麻烦可能就更大了。

What you need to do is to learn how to do holiday emailing better. Be firm with yourself. Don’t have your BlackBerry in your pocket all the time. Turn it on once, maybe twice a day. Reply only to the most essential things. That means to your boss, and to anyone else who can’t wait.

你需要做的是学会如何更好地在休假时处理电子邮件。对自己严格要求。不要每时每刻都把黑莓装在口袋里。每天开机一次，或者每天两次。只回复那些最重要的邮件。也就是说，回复老板或者任何其他必须立即回复的人的邮件。

On the matter of the out-of-office email, I’m with your boss on this too. During the summer, my inbox has twice the number of replies in it: an automated one comes first, followed swiftly (often within seconds) by one from the person themselves on the beach.

至于设置不在办公室的自动电邮，我也认同你老板的观点。在夏季，我的收件箱收到的回复邮件数量是平时的两倍：首先是自动回复的邮件，紧随其后(经常是几秒之内)的是某个在海滩度假的人亲自发来的邮件。

So dump the automatic message. Anyone who needs a quick response from you will get one. Anyone else can wait. And when you get back, remember you worked (a little) when you were away. And so you deserve to play (a little) now that you are back in the office.

因此，抛弃自动回复邮件吧。那些你必须很快回复的人，你自然会回复。其他人等等也无妨。当你回来上班时，记得你在休假时曾经工作过(一点)。因此在你回到办公室时，你有权放松(一点)。

（兼职编辑：张博）