ASKYOURSELF a question: when you get home from your day at work, do you:
A. Tell the folks at home every single detail about your day, from how many bookings you did to who made the tea?
B. Switch off, relax and put the very thought of work out of your head the minute you walk through the door?
C. Only mention work if something particularly good, bad or amusing happened during the day?
As is usually the case with these multiple-choice questionnaires, the third option is the correct one here. Why? Because it represents the kind of balance you need to keep between your work and home life.
For your own sake, and for the sake of whoever it is you live with, it’s important not to bring every detail of your work home.
Working in the travel industry is an interesting job and during the working day, you will have undoubtedly come across people who are amusing, strange, difficult, rude – and that’s just your colleagues!
But recounting the various ins and outs of every sale, every frustrating call to a tour operator and every time you had to tell a customer that they would have to book today to get the price they wanted, can be wearying for the person whose ear you are bending.
However, on the other hand, it can be therapeutic to get things off your chest and to get feedback from someone totally unrelated to your business.
Any psychologist will tell you that sharing details of your separate lives will help your relationship.
One travel agent, who asked not be named, admitted he would be classed as option ‘b’ above.
He told me why he chooses not to discuss his work with his girlfriend.
“When I get home, all I want to do is relax and take my mind off it. Also, I don’t think she wants to hear about how many heads I’ve done, or how long it took me to re-do the window display,” he said.
But his girlfriend told me otherwise. “He never voluntarily tells me anything about his job, but when I make a point of asking him, he often has some very funny stories to tell.
“I’m amazed at how rude some of the customers can be, and I like to hear about some of the offers. I usually get straight on the phone to my friends to see if they want a cheap holiday.”
But she admitted that she’d soon get bored if he went on all night about his job.
In one particular household it is understandable that the conversation over the washing up often turns to work.
Rita Flaherty has worked for Thomas Cook for two years, and since that time her daughters Abbie and Carly have also joined the company.
Carly and Rita work at Thomas Cook’s Surrey Quays branch and Abbie is on a youth training scheme and is currently based at the chain’s Lewisham branch.
Rita says they will often come home and chat about work, but not all of the time.
“Yes, we do talk about work when we get home. We might say if we’ve had a good day, and got a good sell, or we might say if we’ve had a bad day, with an irritating customer, but we don’t go on all night,” she explained.
For Abbie, the newest recruit, the after-work chats are helping her get to know the job and are providing valuable tips for her NVQ exam which she will take at the end of the two years of training.
She added: “People say to me ‘How can you work in the same company as your mum and sister?’ But I really like it. It’s nice because Carly can help me if I’m not sure how to do something, like Special Service Requirements.
“Sometimes dad says: ‘Agh, not work again’ but we know he really doesn’t mind the situation.”