I am curious to know if this is typical for France or is it common to other countries too. I've worked throughout of august here and all most everyone is just okay with the fact that the person they were looking for will not be in until the first week of september. I have worked in many countries for big and small companies but the french take the “I am not available, find another solution” to the highest level.
Of course the rat race will pick up very soon, but this “my absence will not kill you or my company” is refreshing at least. When you say: il/elle est en congé (he/she is on holidays), you just hear a soft “oh I understand , what are the options now..”
My boss left for her holidays and the last reuinion was just to make sur we would not in any circumstances have to mail here about something urgent (of course calling her was not even an option).
But still, things get done. You learn to meet other people who can help you out with urgent matters and in the end nothing is really urgent unless you work in a hospital or fire department. From what I have learned, urgency, needing ro respond to requests immediately, feeling guilty to go home while there's “so much” stuff to take care off is just artificially created to give that sense of: without this job, god knows were I will end up…
France is far from being a paridise in any way regarding the professional environnement, but boy, don't get in the way of their “pause café, pause clope, déjeuner, vacances, arrêt maladie”…
And that's how it should be everywhere….