Work-life balance is a topic that comes up frequently in the accounting profession. Robert Half, a recruiting company, surveys accoun­tants occasionally.

38% of accoun­tants take the office with them on holiday in the form of either a laptop or handheld computer. The research also found that 34% of accoun­tants globally admit to working in the evenings, while 37% respond to e-mails and take phone calls in the evening when they have pressing deadlines.

• I left every­thing when I went on vacation last month. No laptops, and the phone was off the entire time!
• Working in the evenings is a given during busy season and sometimes necessary at other times.
• I respond to emails if I happen to check my work address, but that doesn’t happen regularly at this time of year (see above).

I may have left the computers at home because I was worried about potential surges and didn’t want to buy a protector. But I definitely cut the cord to the office. Generally you aren’t taking vacation if it is a busy time, though.

I was reading and responding to email earlier this afternoon (Sunday!) because I happened to check. It didn’t really feel like work, and certainly not burdensome. It all depends on the current workload. If I was writing this post in March, it might sound different!