给自己打工：5招巧解休假难题

    在当今经济形势下，有所发展的工作门类并不多，但有一种工作类型除外——越来越多的人称自己为“自由人”。根据临时员工代理机构凯利服务公司（Kelly Services）提供的数据，超过40%的职场人士自称为“自由人”，认为自己长期独立于任何雇主，而2008年该数据为26%。这类人在不同的公司之间快速切换，通常大部分时候都是在为自己打工。

    诚然，自己当老板有很多优势。但是否也有缺憾呢？每年假期前后，企业家们都会感到（根据具体情况，这种感受也可能会反复出现），休假一两周已经变成了一件很困难的事，更别提更长时间的休假了，比如产假或者公休假。

    很多公司利用带薪休假作为招聘的诱饵。但德克萨斯州普莱桑顿一位独立心理专家詹姆斯•萨顿表示:“自己当老板的人会为他们所谓的度假‘乐趣’付出双重代价，即休假的成本以及因休假损失的收入。”

    全年无休听起来不错，但往往可能导致效率低下。萨顿称：“有些最好的想法和营销点子都是在我休养生息和‘无所事事’的时候冒出来的。”其他很多自由职业人士也深有同感。下面是一些企业主的经验之谈。

尽早规划，越早越好

    2011年底的时候就制定出明年的旅行方案。至少提前数月确定休假时间，这样就能在客户服务规划中留出空挡，，同时相应规划好产品供应。蒂姆•帕金是帕金网络开发公司（Parkin Web Development）总裁，该公司位于佛罗里达州奥兰多。他说：“如果拖到最后时刻才决定去哪里旅行，你就没办法做好充分准备并知会客户。这对双方都不公平。”

    提前规划还能让你对度假前后的工作事项进行计划，并据此安排员工的日程表。帕金表示，如果客户知道你的假期计划，他们“可能会立即询问（‘你能否在休假之前做到某某事’），所以我们最好尽量提前通知客户。”

掌握规律，避开高峰

    如果经营零售业，最好打消在圣诞节前就开始休假的念头。马克•阿赛尔斯汀与其连襟合伙经营一家名为“开启冒险之旅”（Uncorked Ventures）的红酒俱乐部。他说：“我们50%的销量往往都来自感恩节到圣诞节之间这段时间。”2010年是他们开业的第一年。“我们没有做好规划，结果很糟。坦白地说，我们在探亲和准时发货这两方面都没做好。”

    今年，在圣诞节假期开始时，阿塞尔斯汀和连襟将缺席家庭聚会。不过，他俩会在12月23日晚上开始休假。因为到了这个时间点，赶在25日之前给客户发送红酒已经来不及，而一月份并非红酒消费旺季，所以他们不需要急着赶回工作岗位。

    Not many job categories are growing in today's economy, but here's one that is: the number of workers calling themselves "free agents." According to temp staffing agency Kelly Services, more than four in 10 workers call themselves "free agents," feeling unattached, long term, to any employer. This is up from 26% in 2008. People flit between organizations and -- often -- spend significant time working for themselves.

    There are many upsides to calling yourself boss. The downside? Every year, around the holidays, entrepreneurs learn (and relearn, as the case may be) that it's tough to take even a week or two off, let alone a longer absence, like a maternity leave or sabbatical.

    While corporations dangle paid vacation as a perk, as James Sutton, a self-employed psychologist in Pleasanton, Texas puts it, "the self-employed person pays for their 'fun' twice: the cost of the time off, and the revenue lost from not working."

    It's tempting to just keep grinding away. But that's counter-productive. Sutton claims that "some of my best ideas and marketing approaches came when my mind was refreshed and 'idle,'" and many other free agents report the same thing. Here are a few strategies for taking time off from business owners who've done it:

Plan ahead. Way ahead.

    Figure out your 2012 travel plans by the end of 2011. Knowing your vacation times at least a few months in advance lets you build that lack of availability into your client proposals and plan your pipeline accordingly. Says Tim Parkin, president of Parkin Web Development in Orlando, Florida, "last minute trips make it difficult to adequately prepare and give notice to your clients. It's unfair to both parties."

    Knowing your schedule ahead of time also lets you plan for some long days before and after, and arrange employee schedules with that in mind. Parkin notes that clients who learn of your vacation plans "might have immediate requests ('Can you do XYZ before you leave?'), which is why more notice is better."

Watch your business cycle.

    If you run a retail business, forget about starting Christmas vacation before Christmas. Mark Aselstine, who co-owns a wine club called Uncorked Ventures with his brother-in-law, notes that "50% of our sales typically occur between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day." 2010 was their first in business, "and we didn't have a real plan and ended up, frankly, not doing a good job seeing family, or getting customer orders delivered in a timely manner."

    This year, the rest of the family will start Christmas without them, and Aselstine and his brother-in-law will take off on the night of the 23rd. At that point, it's too late to get wine delivered before the 25th, and with January being a slow month for wine, they won't have to hurry back.