Aww, yes, that sound of the ocean lapping up onto the beach while your toes rest in the sand and the sun is beaming at just the right temperature. Working folks should be encouraged to decompress and take some time off during this ideal season to enjoy their favorite getaway. One side effect of vacationing is it may actually cause you to become more productive at work and bring a handful of health benefits.
According to a study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the U.S. is the only developed country to not require employers to provide vacation time. However, this is not in their best interest.
U.S. companies accrued $65.6 billion in unused PTO in the last year, according to a study from the U.S. Travel Association. The study additionally stated a lack of time off could affect employee’s happiness, health, work performance and productivity. All work and no play, literally, will make you dull.
It shouldn’t be all on employee’s to request this time. Sometimes, it’s hard to walk away from your desk when a team is depending on you for deliverables. Employers should stress the importance of taking some personal time, whether it’s actively reorganizing workload or making it an order. Many successful company’s, such as GoHealthInsurance.com, Netflix and HubSpot, saw huge spikes in their employee’s productivity after implementing unlimited vacation policies.
The unlimited vacation policy is still small, with only about 1 percent of major businesses using this, CNBC wrote. The employer fear of employees taking too much time off has not been an issue, according to the article. However, this model only worked among professionals with clear performance metrics and goals to meet. Basically, be responsible and balance your workload if you want to reap the wonders of unlimited vacations.
It’s hard enough for me to walk away from my desk for an hour knowing work will continue to pile up. Turn that into a week and the idea of vacationing doesn’t even cross my mind.
I have to admit, though. I have found myself to be more rejuvenated, clear-headed and creative after a few days off the grind.
So, the only question now – when are you going to step away from your desk and book your getaway?