How companies can help employees unplug while on vacation

For all the emphasis Sylvis Environmental Services puts on work-life balance, the smartphone era first proved a formidable foe. Some of its 30 staff embraced being plugged in all the time. Others vehemently wanted to leave work behind when they clocked out.

After wrestling with how this might affect the New Westminster, B.C.-based residuals-management firm’s vacation policy, president Mike Van Ham decided not to fight either faction. If checking e-mail every day gave an employee peace of mind, that’s fine; if they’d rather hike the Andes for three weeks and leave their phone at home, the company would help them plan a way to disappear peacefully.

Report Typo/Error

Follow Josh O’Kane on Twitter: @joshokane