Arianna Huffington's approach to employee holiday is genius

Taking some time away from the workplace is incredibly important for staff wellbeing, health and productivity. Whether they decide to jet off and spend a couple of weeks wildlife watching in Bali, or staying in to catch-up on a series they’re craving to escape in, one constant remains – the dread of the overflowing inbox upon returning.

Arianna Huffington, co-Founder of the Huffington Post, has found a solution for inbox anxiety. The Founder and CEO of wellness company Thrive Global, has created a tool ‘Thrive Away’ which automatically deletes employee’s emails they receive during their annual leave.

She explains the system in an article for Harvard Business Review: “The way it works is simple: While you’re away on vacation, people who email you get a message, letting them know when you’ll be back. And then - the most important part - the tool deletes the email.

“If the email is important, the sender can always send it again. If it’s not, then it’s not waiting for you when you get back, or, even worse, tempting you to read it while you’re away. So, the key is not just that the tool is creating a wall between you and your email; it’s that it frees you from the mounting anxiety of having a mounting pile of emails waiting for you on your return - the stress of which mitigates the benefits of disconnecting in the first place.”