The ultimate reason why vacation time is important for employees and employers alike
- Abigail Gaston
- Feb 1, 2019
- 5 min read
Ever hear of Project Time Off? For someone who makes sure to utilize all of her vacation time each year and preaches to others, in a very polite but excited fashion, the value of vacation, I was surprised when I recently stumbled onto this organization. Why? I couldn't believe that the workers of America are neglecting their vacation time to the extent that we need a "Project Time Off" organization intervention. However, I am glad they exist!
Project Time Off is an organization committed to "changing the thinking and behavior of Americans about vacation time." Evidently, since year 2000, the amount of vacation time taken by working Americans has plummeted. Project Time Off reported that in 2015, more than half of the working Americans who receive vacation time left a decent chunk of it on the table when the calendar year rolled over. The amount that went unused totaled nearly 658 million days! This is not just shocking, it is tragic. This means that American citizens missed out on 658 million opportunities to relax, recoup, and refresh; 3 things we all really need!
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Why do you think this is? Why do we (well, not me) let something we earn, deserve, and quite frankly, need, go unused? Why do we place the value of our health behind work? Taking time off from work for vacation, or even to just decompress, is indeed healthy for our mind, body, and soul. So, why do we constantly put our work over something that has been proven to increase work performance by making you more efficient and creative, among other skill improvements.
For some, they feel that they are too busy to enjoy a week away from work. For others, they feel that if they take time off, they will be drowning when they return, and therefore it is just not worth it. Sadly, there is even companies out there that offer vacation time, but frown upon employees who actually use it. There are even instances when management and leadership indirectly punish employees for using their vacation time, which causes them to be apprehensive toward using it in the future. The last few are incredibly unfortunate and unfair to employees, and actually detrimental to the business. You see, companies that promote time away from work, actually operate, and even prosper, better than companies that harp on the use of earned paid time off.
The above may sound like speculation, but trust me when I say that the excuses people give for not taking time off are real, and sadly, more common than we like to hope. Project Time Off produces real results; they do not just guess on their discoveries. What they found through surveys and research is that a large part of the reason employees fall short on using their vacation time is due to the position management and leadership place on it.
You see, the attitude management and leadership has toward time off is a substantial factor in whether or not employees take time away from work. In fact, according to Project Time Off, "80 percent of employees said they would likely take more time off, if they felt fully supported and encouraged by their boss." When employees are managed by an individual that fails to see the value in their time away from the office, or where ever the position operates out of, employees tend to take as little time away as possible. However, when management and leadership promote, or at least respect, their employees' "me time," employees are more apt to take their much deserved time away from work.
Management and leadership, why should you encourage your employees to take time away from work? Well, there are many reasons; however, for the sake of time, let's focus on the following three:
- Satisfaction
- Improved quality and efficiency
- Creative Thinking
1. Vacation time provides a natural existence of employees satisfaction.
Employees who feel comfortable taking time away work /using their vacation time are automatically happier employees. When employees feel threatened by taking a vacation or using the vacation time allotted to them, their satisfaction with their employer decreases, understandably. They may still like their job duties, just not the employer they currently work for. This may cause an employee to begin looking for the same job at a different company; perhaps, a competitor.
2. Employees return from vacation refreshed!
Multiple studies, including ones completed by Project Time Off, indicate that when employees take time away from work, they are able to decompress, distress, refresh, and even sometimes gain a new perspective on things. Meaning, when they return to work, they actually become more efficient, which naturally causes productivity and quality to increase.
Plus, do not forget about post-vacation positiveity! Sure, there is such a thing as dreading the return to the real world. However, after a couple of days, the fact that employees feel rejuvenated from vacation, even if their time away was a stay-cation, automatically improves their mindset, which rolls over into their job duties and working relationships.
3. There is a history of genius actions, findings, and problem solving that involves a correlation of creative and strategic thinking and travel.
This is my absolute favorite of all vacation /away time benefits! There is something about travel and escaping the work-life norm that boosts our creative processing. I am not 100% positive what the for sure answer is; it is likely that there are many factors. However, it seems that surrounding oneself with a different scene, one is able to also think differently, and perhaps come up with answers they were looking for.
Psychologists have actually been studying this for years. They have been attempting to tackle the much desired question, "How does distance from normal life and/or a change of scenery, actually help the brain improve creative and strategic thinking?"
For me, sometimes it just takes a period of time away from my daily ponders, thoughts, job duties, and tasks, to think about, well, nothing, for a great idea to pop in my head. It is almost like shutting my brain down from "work-mode" actually produces great ideas!
I read an article from the online journal, "All Psychology Careers," that provided a story of the famous Princeton physics researcher, Freeman Dyson. In the 1940's, Dyson was traveling in Kansas on a Greyhound bus in the middle of the night. While doing so, he cracked the code of quantum electrodynamics - a theory of radiation and atoms. Physicists, Dyson included, had spent years, maybe even their entire lives, wracking their brains on this very problem, and it only took Dyson a midnight travel through Kansas to finally nail it! Sure, it was no week long beach vacation; but a change of scenery and relaxing travel seemed to do the trick.
Conclusion:
This is a topic I could go on and on about, and perhaps you will see a follow-up to it in the near future. However, you have the basics and I really hope that they are something that changes your perception, and possible pattern of thinking, in regards to vacation time. For additional benefits related to vacation and travel, follow me on Instagram at All That Gallivanting! And, be sure to stay connected by subscribing to the All That Gallivanting email list - get blog post updates and great travel deals right to your email, so that you do not miss a beat. So, the only question I have left is, where do you want to travel to next?
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