It’s Time For a Break! (Summer Vacation)
“It is a good thing for everyone who can possibly do so to get away at least once a year for a change of scenery. I do not want to get into the position of not being able to see the forest because of the thickness of the trees.” –Franklin Roosevelt
Summer has arrived and so have the vacations! Many employees look forward to this time of year to unplug and get away from the usual grind. Surprisingly, we’ve noticed more and more that even though employees are given PTO, sometimes they are hesitant to actually use it. This blog is a reminder of why it’s good, even necessary, to take this time for yourself. Whether you’ve been putting one off or even taken one recently, it’s time for a break!
Unlimited PTO (Using Your Time)
We recently published an article about the new trend of companies offering unlimited PTO as an incentive to attract new employees. An interesting twist to the ‘unlimited’ offering is that employees are actually taking less time off. The consensus is that many people don’t want to feel like they are taking advantage of this perk.
Are you one of those people? Is that how you look at your time off in general? Well taking time for yourself isn’t a negative thing at all. No really! There are some cold hard facts on why taking this time is actually beneficial for you as an employee. Lay your eyes on these facts from a study by the America’s International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
- Employees who take their annual leave are 40% more productive. They are also less irritable, depressed, forgetful, and easily fatigued.
- Without breaks, employees become 65% less creative and miss deadlines
- Well-rested employees are 38% less prone to workplace accidents
- Employees who take their full annual leave are 28% less likely to take sick leave
As you can see there are actually quite a few benefits for making time for yourself. Having more productive employees is certainly something any company would welcome.
Taking A Vacation (Excuses You Can Curb)
Based on another one of our blogs about why employees should take a vacation we tackled some of the reasons why people think they can’t take a vacation. Let’s take a look at those now and talk about why they shouldn’t stop you from getting the time you deserve away from the office.
The following stats come to us from a survey by GfK showing the top five reasons for leaving vacation time unused:
- Fear of returning to a mountain of work (40%)
- The belief that nobody else can do the job (35%)
- Inability to afford taking time off (33%)
- Fear of being seen as replaceable (22%)
- To show greater dedication to the company and the job (28%)
When it comes to number 1 and number 2 no employee should feel that there isn’t someone who can jump in to help out for a week or two. In fact, having that reciprocal coverage or support can help with keeping that team collaboration going in a company and keep employees even more engaged. As for number 3, not everyone needs extravagant and expensive vacations. Some people need rejuvenating time away from work. Sometimes just sleeping in and not having to be on a schedule is a vacation in its own right.
If you’re concerned about being ‘replaceable’ then make sure that your work always speaks for itself and you’re someone people can depend on. Sometimes though it’s not just the output of work that you are judged on but just the personality and professionalism you bring to your job. It’s silly to say ‘make yourself irreplaceable’ but at the same time you shouldn’t fear for your job especially if you know you’re good at what you do.
Number 5 is definitely a situation people struggle with because they feel like taking time for themselves isn’t being loyal to the company. The reality is that people who don’t take time off experience burnout and fatigue at a much faster rate. As you can probably imagine this doesn’t help anyone. Have you noticed that people that take more time off seem to get promotions and raises more often? Well as we mentioned before people that take time off are more productive. Companies like productivity, it’s what matters most to them.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day it all comes down to doing what’s best for you. We’ve done our best to give you the reasons why it can actually be beneficial to take a vacation or find time to take a break from the daily routine of your job. We’re hoping that you’re already planning where you will go or what you’d like to do. At the end of the day jobs come and go but memories last a lifetime. Don’t stop yourself from making some new ones this summer. Go make some memories because it’s time for a break.