I'm about to go on an extended holiday – how do I make sure there isn't a mountain of work when I get back
Here, Karren gives her expert advice to a reader who is looking for help on writing a CV.
Advertisement
1
Karren Brady gives you career advice
Q: I'm soon due to go on an extended holiday for almost a month, but I'm already worried about the mountain of work waiting for me when I get back.
Although I'm part of a wider team, I largely work autonomously and don't have anyone I can hand my workload over to while I'm away.
I'm trying to get ahead as much as possible, but there's only so much I can do, and I'm now starting to panic.
I'm thinking about taking my work phone away with me so I can try to stay on top of things a bit, plus it will help keep my anxiety levels down, as at least I'll know what's going on.
Advertisement
READ MORE FROM KARREN BRADY
My friends say this is a bad idea, though.
What do you think?
Julia, via email
A
: Time off should leave you feeling refreshed, not like you've just been working remotely.
Advertisement
Most read in Fabulous
Start by setting clear boundaries now, before you leave.
Communicate early and openly with your manager and the wider team – share the dates you'll be out of the office and say you're happy to help tie up loose ends beforehand.
Apprentice star Karren Brady terrified after burglar launched FOUR raids on £6m home in 16 hours taking designer gear
Even if there's no direct cover for your role, see if any tasks can be paused or reassigned temporarily before you go.
Set a detailed out-of-office reply with your return date and a contact for any urgent matters.
Advertisement
Rather than having your work phone constantly on, consider gradually checking in during the final few days of your break – just 15-30 minutes a day could ease the transition without disrupting your rest.
And finally, remember to plan for a light workload and meetings schedule on your first few days back to enable you to focus on clearing your inbox and updating your to-do list.
Enjoy this time off – a month-long holiday doesn't happen very often, so make the most of it.
Got a careers question for Karren?
Advertisement
Got a careers question for Karren? Email bossingit@fabulousmag.co.uk.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
6 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Hilary Weston, who helped build Penneys and Brown Thomas, has died aged 83
Hilary Weston, the Dublin-born businesswoman who helped build Penneys and Brown Thomas as part of her husband Galen Weston 's family retail empire, has died aged 83. Ms Weston died in England, where she lived in recent years. She was prominent in the early days of Penneys after the family business bought the ailing Todd Byrne's department store and established the budget fashion chain. She is said to have personally overseen the production of clothing for the in-house brand the company introduced early on, Primark , which would ultimately give its name to the wider chain outside Ireland. She was later prominent in running Brown Thomas for a considerable time after her husband purchased the long-established retailer. In the years that followed she served as vice-chair of Holt Renfrew, the group's luxury retail chain in Canada. She held a variety of other positions in the wider family's interests, which included the conglomerate Associated British Foods (ABF), of which Penneys was a subsidiary; Fortnum & Mason; and Loblaws, the largest food retailer in Canada. She also oversaw a major property development in Florida. Born Hilary Frayne in Dún Laoghaire in 1942, she was the eldest of five children and attended Loreto Abbey, Dalkey. She started to work as a model in the 1950s and was successful at it, working extensively in Ireland and internationally. She met her future husband after he saw her on a billboard advertisement and had auctioneer Corrie Buckley arrange an introduction. The couple married in 1966. Having initially settled at the Roundwood Park estate in Wicklow, the family moved to Toronto in 1971 and Ms Weston later became a Canadian citizen. In August 1983, the IRA attempted to kidnap Mr Weston at Roundwood but An Garda Síochána had apparently been tipped off. The family was not there and two of the kidnappers were killed, while others were arrested during a gunfight with armed police. The family went on to sell the estate and are said to have become more private afterwards. Mr Weston, who was born in England but brought up in Canada, moved to Ireland in 1962 to establish Power supermarkets. He later took over the Quinnsworth chain before eventually selling the retailer to Tesco in the 1990s. Brown Thomas subsequently acquired the Switzer group of stores and then Arnotts, the Irish operation becoming part of the Selfridges group, which the family sold in 2021 for a price reported to have exceeded €4 billion. Penneys, though, which was established by Arthur Ryan with Galen Weston for ABF in 1969, would ultimately represent the Irish business's greater contribution to the wider group. The company now employs more than 80,000 staff across 17 countries and had sales of close to €11 billion in 2024. The Sunday Times put the wider family's fortune at some £17.75 billion in its most recent rich list. Ms Weston was still involved in various aspects of the business until recent years and played a role well as the many related charitable foundations which had been established to support a range of causes and made donations running into hundreds of millions of euro over the years. In 1979, she set up the Ireland Fund of Canada, a chapter of Tony O'Reilly's Ireland Fund, to raise money for good causes here. Between 1997 and 2002 she served as lieutenant governor of Ontario, donating the salary to an initiative to help young people from poor backgrounds into employment. She also authored two successful books on homes and gardens. She was predeceased by her husband, who died in April 2021, and is survived by their two children, Alannah and Galen jnr, both of whom are involved in the family business.
Agriland
23 minutes ago
- Agriland
1,037 work permits issued to agri sector in first half of year
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) issued 1,037 work permits to the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector in the first half of 2025. This is down from a total of 1,859 issued in the first six months of last year. The figures show that in June this year, 59 were issued to the sector, while 117 were issued in May. The highest number of permits so far this year were issued in February with 266, followed by 245 in March. Across all sectors, a total of 15,043 permits have issued in 2025 so far. Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon this week said that arising from ongoing engagement with sector stakeholders, his department is in regular contact with the DETE regarding the labour shortages that exist in certain sub-sectors of agri-food. "Where there has been difficulty recruiting sufficient labour from within Ireland and the European Economic Area (EEA), my department continues to work closely with DETE to ensure that there are employment permits made available to recruit additional labour, while recognising that this should be the last resort for filling vacancies," Minister Heydon said. "I am informed that 3,626 employment permits issued in 2024 to the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, of which 1,912 were new permits and 1,714 were renewals. "Agri-food was the sector in receipt of the second most general employment permits last year, followed by the healthcare sector." The minister added that the Seasonal Employment Permit Pilot Scheme launched earlier this year. This permit is a short-term employment permit for a non-EEA national to work for a maximum of seven months per calendar year in a seasonally recurrent employment. It is designed to support targeted economic sectors, such as horticulture, in addressing labour shortages. "I will continue to work closely with the sector and with the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to help ensure that there is sufficient labour available to the agri-food sector," Minister Heydon said. The DETE this year is to hold a public consultation as part of a formal review of the occupations eligible for employment permits. A DETE spokesperson told Agriland: 'Ireland's employment permits system is managed through two occupations lists, the Critical Skills Occupations List and the Ineligible Occupations List. 'These occupations lists respectively determine employments that are either very highly skilled and in enduring shortage and those employments ineligible for an employment permit. 'Any role not on either of the occupations list can be considered for a general employment permit. 'The occupations lists are subject to periodic evidence-based reviews, which include a public consultation process that invites evidence-based submissions from all sectors."
Agriland
24 minutes ago
- Agriland
Tanaiste Outlines Steps Govt Taking in Mercosur Negotiations
The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Harris has said that he has discussed international trade developments, including the Mercosur agreement, with his counterparts from France and Germany, among others. The Tánaiste was asked about the steps he is taking to protect environmental and agricultural interests in the Mercosur trade negotiations by Social Democrats TD, Sinéad Gibney yesterday (July 10). According to the Tánaiste, EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) support more opportunity for trade and investment, help support jobs and growth at home, maintain strict EU standards on food safety, animal and plant health, and support better environmental and human rights standards around the world. He said: "The government is committed to supporting free, fair and open trade. Indeed, recent developments in the global trading environment have highlighted the importance of market diversification via an expanded set of EU free trade agreements. "We have always been clear, that such agreements must defend our most vulnerable sectors and that our farmers' livelihoods must not be undermined through weak or ineffective environmental standards in other countries." "Our position is clearly outlined in the Programme for Government, which states that the government will work with like-minded EU countries to stand up for Irish farmers and defend our interests in opposing the current Mercosur trade deal," The Tánaiste explained. The Tánaiste claims, that during trade negotiations, the government has always been guided by "standing up for and defending the interests of Irish farmers", along with securing enhanced market access opportunities for them and Irish agri-food exports. He explained: "Since the commission announced the conclusion of negotiations, officials from my department and other departments, have been working together to carefully analyse the text of the additional legal instrument addressing sustainability commitments. "I and my officials have continued to engage at EU level, with both the European Commission and with counterparts in EU Member States, including like-minded countries, to voice our concerns with the agreement and to interrogate the outcome of negotiations to assess if our concerns have been adequately addressed." "In recent weeks and months, I have discussed international trade developments including the Mercosur agreement with my counterparts from France and Germany, among others," the Tánaiste added. The Tánaiste highlighted that the government is still awaiting the European Commission's presentation of the final, consolidated agreement. He explained that engagements with the European Commission are ongoing as the government seeks "sufficient clarification" on the priority areas in advance of any final decision on the agreement.
