“For more than twenty years, all my free time has been delimited by the delivery dates of my patients,” explains gynecologist and obstetrician Marimer Pérez, 49 years old. She has lost count of how many August 15s she spent on call during her time as a resident and explains that even today, when she already runs her own medical center, WoMer in Barcelona, she is not usually able to take vacations when most others do. What is life like for people who rest and work against the grain of the rest?
In a report from the National Observatory of Outbound Tourism (ObservaTUR) from June of this year, 15% of the Spaniards interviewed stated that they would not go on vacation this summer that we have just closed. After economic motivations, the second group of reasons for not traveling were “those related to lack of time for work or study (21%).” Also in June, the human resources company Randstat estimated that the summer campaign would generate half a million contracts, of which two out of three would be signed in hotels and logistics.
“In a world of hyperconsumption 24 hours a day, it seems that we need more and more services that operate for more hours and, with it, more jobs to cover them,” says the collaborating professor of the UOC's Economics and Business Studies. Manel Fernández Jaria. One extreme of this is the courier and delivery companies that operate every day of the year. “These exponential organizations use staff on demand, that is, when they need them. This should not be allowed without establishing acceptable working conditions,” says the expert, although he recognizes that “on the other hand, there are essential services, such as health, social services, police, that need to be covered all the time.”
According to Fernández Jaria, there may be several advantages for workers who enjoy their vacations in the low season, such as, for example, enjoying cheaper prices, having greater contact with local people, and avoiding the crowds and long lines that usually exist. during vacation and holiday periods. “The experience can seem more relaxed, exclusive and authentic,” he says, and it can also be beneficial for stress levels in some non-seasonal jobs, because “work slows down” during the holiday season. .
However, Jaria clarifies that it can also “give us the feeling that we do not make the most of our time like others and that we are 'weirdos'. The company issue is very important. We are social animals and we like to do what the majority do.” At the same time, he also clarifies that “there may be difficulties in finding attractive destinations that offer tourist services.”
For the philosopher director of the Ethos Chair of the Ramon Lull University, Francesc Torralba, there may be benefits “not only at the user level, since it avoids overcrowding and rising prices during collective summer seasons, but also for leisure companies. , because it deseasonalizes services and allows their activity to be prolonged beyond the standardized times to rest.”
However, Torralba warns that, in certain tasks of responsibility, where “the worker is required to be aware of what is happening in the workplace and in the decision-making processes,” there is no real disconnection with the world of work. “Without this disconnection, the liberating and cathartic effect that vacation time has is not achieved,” he says and adds: “Rest is not a luxury, nor a privilege. It is a fundamental, basic and indispensable need.”
If there is someone who knows not to have moments of absolute disconnection, it is the obstetrician Marimer Pérez. “If you want to practice this profession honestly, there are no schedules. You depend on when it is time for the baby to come out,” she indicates. She must always be available. She doesn't go into a bar or join a gym that has bad coverage. “They can call me at any time,” she explains.
More than once, Dr. Pérez has had to return from a vacation that has just begun and get up at dessert time during an appointment. “If you continually cancel plans or can't go to the emergency room, they stop calling you,” says the obstetrician. This was something that weighed heavily on him during her youth.
He still remembers with sadness the day he received a call on the way to his school anniversary in Madrid, and he had to take the first train back to Barcelona. “I don't know how many times I've had to get off one train and get on another,” she says. In a few weeks, her parents' golden wedding will be celebrated in Madrid. All the bills she took accept changes.
Marimer Pérez still remembers what a midwife told her one Christmas they spent together in the delivery room: “Today is Christmas because people say so. But it could be any other day. When you get home, you make yourself something for dinner, you put on a movie and that's it. Don't worry. "You'll go see your family another time."
“They always tell you that it is a beautiful profession. It's true, but she's also very self-sacrificing,” she says. And it has had a very high cost in the personal life of Marimer Pérez. “You can ask a person to come back once, for a weekend, but when it's something repeated... Maybe you're unlucky, and you get three births in three weekends in a row. This has led me to have arguments, even to the point of having to leave a relationship,” she explains. “In my work, it is very rare for someone to be married to the same partner their entire life,” she emphasizes. And that explains, for her, why women no longer opt for this type of positions or jobs: “There is no generational change. Personalized birth, where your doctor and your midwife go, has an expiration date.”
Clara Bianchi, 33, has also worked more than one Christmas day. She accompanies people with physical or intellectual diversity in sheltered apartments and this is a service that operates all day, every day of the year. As an assistant, she must be available—“on call”—during the dates when most people take vacations, both summer and winter.
By contract, Bianchi must work a certain number of hours per quarter - it is about 100 or 125 hours per month - and can choose when and how to cover them. He usually chooses night or weekend shifts, which last ten to twelve hours at least.
“Once I complete those hours, I have all the rest of the time to rest. By concentrating many hours together, I then have many more free days, it is a fairly free regime. I'm going against the clock, but I can decide when,” she says. Many of her friends work in hospitality, so most of his social plans are on weekdays.
Working on weekends and holidays allows you to accompany users during their leisure time. “I like to share moments of enjoyment with them more than those of routine,” she explains. He also prefers to go on vacation in the low season, when everything is quieter. The fact of being a migrant and being far from her family, she explains, means that working during the holidays does not have an emotional burden for her.
Family conciliation appears as the factor that can present the greatest challenges when it comes to fitting in work schedules and 'untimely' vacations. Although there may be exceptions. “A father who has hospitality schedules explained to me that, although he cannot spend the weekends with his children, he can share all the lunches with them, which is when most of them are busy,” says the teacher and Director of the Group. of Research in Stress and Health (GIES) of the UAB Jordi Fernández Castro and adds: “Family conciliation can be surfed in many different ways. It is very normal that, for example, the mother and father carry it out as if it were a relay race, where one takes the lead when the other works and when the child is not with one, he is with the other.”
The philosopher Francesc Torralba explains that going against the current can represent “a dysfunction in the social organization”, due to the fact that “it is difficult to combine that person's leisure with that of the rest of the members of his or her family.” However, he clarifies that in addition to community leisure, there are also forms of individual leisure, where coincidence in order to program activities together is not necessary.
“I sought to have this type of schedule. I always hated working on Mondays,” says Clara Bianchi and explains: “Going to public spaces on a Saturday or Sunday, when everyone is on the street, generated a lot of anxiety in me. I didn't like having those days off. I preferred to stay at home. Now I don't feel the pressure of having to be enjoying or doing something on those days. When I want to stay home all day sleeping, watching movies or reading, I do it without guilt.”
Marcelo Casalins (34) has lived in Barcelona for thirteen years and this is the first summer season that he has worked in Ibiza. He juggles several jobs at once and is busy six days a week, doing a full day of maintenance at a hotel and, at the same time, alternating jobs in a catering establishment and installing audio systems in villas. “It's no longer that he has no idea about vacations, but rather what day I live on. I work a lot and every day is the same. The holidays will come another time,” he says. The goal is to save as much as possible during peak season.
Working when everyone else rests is not something new for Marcelo since he is originally from Mar de Ajó, a tourist city located on the Atlantic coast of Argentina. “For me, all summers were for work, not for rest. If you didn't work in the summer, you suffered in the winter. I have always worked in hospitality. My whole life was like that, so it's not a problem for me. Plus, I had a good time at work,” he explains, although he clarifies: “Going against the grain makes me miss out on good days at the beach and most of the festivals, although sometimes I can make room for myself.”
“It is impossible to take weekends or vacations in high season,” says Manuel Gutierrez (28), who works as a waiter in Barcelona. “It's more complicated to make plans. On weekends you work and the rest of the time you are tired,” he says. “Although part of my environment also works in hospitality, the schedules are rotating and the times in which we work do not always coincide. For me, it is super important to meet my friends because it is the time I have to clear my head. “I am a person who does not like to be alone,” says Gutiérrez.
Santiago Fontana, 36 years old, is a DJ. His stage name is 'Fat-P'. Although during the week he does preliminary work on selecting the musical repertoire, his heaviest workload is concentrated on the weekends, which is when he has the majority of presentations, especially in high season, which is when there are many restaurants and bars. that offer live music and entertainment. “That is also why it is difficult to take vacations at this time. In this sense, I am going a little backwards, at least compared to when I worked from Monday to Friday.”
Much of his closest circle works in hospitality, which makes it easier to meet in his free time. “Although DJ work usually ends later, the schedules are quite similar. In Barcelona, weekends are not as defined as in other places and you can find a space to share with your peers on one day of the week,” says Santiago Fontana.
In addition to having well-distributed rest periods, for UAB professor Jordi Fernández Castro, the motivational issue is also essential. “Does that person like his work? Do you find benefits that offset the harms? If the answer is yes, then there is no problem,” he maintains.
“It is difficult that the time when you are working always coincides with social events, such as birthdays or live shows. But I am happy doing this. The enjoyment of being in the DJ booth makes everything else take a backseat. That people have a good time with what you do is the best reward,” says Santiago Fontana.
“I'm not the person with the most friends on the planet. But, over time, you stop questioning yourself and you end up realizing that this is your mission. I have accepted and reconciled myself to this. I go to work every day with enthusiasm. I don't get bored with my job. In a delivery room I am like a fish in water,” confesses obstetrician Marimer Pérez.
With the help of her midwives and psychotherapy, Dr. Pérez has been better managing the 'What if they call me?', to give more priority to her free time. “Now I can suddenly go watch a movie or do a spinning class. I know that if there is an emergency, they will call my coach. They've already done it twice. I had to go to the birth with sports leggings on,” she recalls.
For five years, the obstetrician has had a relationship with the brother of one of her patients, who is also a doctor. It is the longest romantic relationship she has ever had. “He is the first man with whom I have shown myself as I am. He is an oncological surgeon and was on call for many years. He knew how to understand me, value that dedication to work that other couples of mine saw as a handicap,” explains Marimer Pérez. Different feelings for a life against the current.
