The Merriam Webster dictionary describes a vacation as a period of exemption from work granted to an employee for rest and relaxation. But for many, the stress of vacation preparation and the subsequent return zaps any anticipated benefit of time away from the office.

With the final weeks of summer upon us, many will be planning their last getaways before the kids head back to school and the autumn chill hits the air. In an effort to help you get the most out of your time off from work, DiversityInc has consulted time-management experts and career coaches to uncover the secrets of a having stress-free vacation. Based on their recommendations, we have compiled a list of four things you (and your employer) can do to guarantee smooth sailing during your time away.

1. Take Enough Time Off
Nearly half of all workers surveyed by Office Team, a Menlo Park, Calif. staffing service, said the biggest mistake they made with their last vacation was not taking enough time off.

"To really relax and disconnect from work, you really need two weeks or more," said Sophfronia Scott, founder of Creative Coaching Plans, a career coaching service in New York City.

Dale Collie, founder of Courage Builders Inc., a management consultancy in Boone, N.C., advises companies to ask employees, particularly those in high-pressure jobs, to take one- or two-week vacations.

"It requires one week to allow you to leave the stress of the job; the second week you can start to enjoy the vacation," said Collie.

Employees may hesitate to take an extended period of time away from the office for fear of the workload awaiting them when they return; however, Scott said, there is the potential for more work following a shorter vacation.

"Leaving for one week is almost more stressful than leaving for two weeks," said Scott.

Scott said coworkers or clients are more likely to leave a request for you to take care of something in the middle of a one-week holiday as opposed to a longer absence. If people have to wait a week or more for a response, they are more likely to seek out other resources than to wait for your return.

For some employees, two weeks is all the vacation time they are allotted for a year; however, Scott still advocates taking it in a lump sum.

"If you do only get two weeks a year, I think you would appreciate the vacation more if you took it all at once instead of piecemeal," said Scott.

2. Manage Your Workload Prior to Your Vacation
Lynn Berger, a New York City-based career coach, said the majority of vacation-related stress is caused by trying to accomplish too much in the week prior to leaving the office. Scott said that the people who will be most successful at getting organized before a vacation are those who have a track record of good time-management skills.

"You have to be aware of what you're working on and be very well organized," said Scott.

Collie recommended setting up a meeting with your manager two weeks before your vacation to prioritize your outstanding assignments. This also is a good time to make arrangements for back-up mechanisms while you're away.

While not all companies agree, Collie also advocated companies giving vacationing employees an extra day or half-day prior to their time off to take care of personal errands before they leave.

"These people are going to make their plans [with or without additional time off]," said Collie. "If management plans for that time off then they know that that's part of the operation. If they don't, the company is still going to lose productivity."

3. Create a Support System
Employees and employers can ease the impact of a vacation by identifying people to cover the absent employee's work tasks. However, this is a concept that some are not entirely comfortable with.

"Some people think that they are indispensable and some companies go along with that," said Collie. "Other people can divide their job to get it done."

The next best thing to delegating job responsibilities is to at least make your work accessible to others while you're gone.

"When I was planning on a vacation, I would try to make everything so someone could come into my office and find something if they needed it," said Scott.

The key to success with this strategy is actually informing people that you have done this.

For many, voicemails and e-mails are the most dreaded part of returning from vacation; however, there are methods to make catching up on correspondence more manageable.

Many people leave an outgoing voicemail message that indicates that they will be out of the office for a designated period of time, but Scott believes this isn't always effective in decreasing the number of messages to which you will return.

"A lot of people don't listen to that," Scott said. "They'll hear you're not there and leave a message anyway. Try leaving a name for someone else they can contact."

Out-of-the-office replies are an excellent way of letting people know you won't be able to respond to an e-mail in a timely fashion; however, like the out-of-the-office voicemail message, they do little to cut down the quantity of messages in your inbox.

Scott recommended setting up e-mail filters prior to going on vacation. When you return, instead of facing a inbox full of e-mails, your electronic correspondence will be neatly categorized, allowing you to prioritize your responses. (Be sure to update your outgoing messages once you return.)

When it comes to checking in with the office or retrieving voicemail or e-mail while away, Scott said, you need to be in tune with your own personal style. For some, checking in can be reassuring, while for others, it can rekindle the work stress they are trying to escape.

Scott added, "If you're not going to check your messages, have a plan on how you're going to deal with them when you come back."

4. Allow Time to Get Up to Speed
The career consultants all agree that your schedule for the first couple of days back in the office following a vacation should be as light as possible.

"When people come back [from vacation] they miscalculate what it's going to take to get back up to speed," said Collie "…If we schedule too many events or appointments, [when we return] we'll be overwhelmed."

"The morning [you return] you want to close your door and go through your stuff," said Berger. "Try not to set up meetings first thing."

There is one meeting Collie recommended scheduling -- one with your manager to find out what took place while you were away.

"The whole idea of being gone will be less stressful knowing what transpired in their absence," said Collie. In addition to business details, Collie said managers should inquire about the person's trip and family, if applicable.

"Their personal attention to that person and their family will increase [the employee's] relationship with the company," said Collie.

Ultimately, vacationing employees can maximize the experience of their time away by staying focused on the reason they're taking vacation.

"Set the intention that you're going to enjoy your vacation," advised Scott. "Don't make your vacation work."

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