Did you know that giving employees time off from their jobs leads to higher levels of engagement? It’s true.
If you want the best performance from your employees while they are at work, it’s important that you give them time to rest and relax outside of the workplace. In the midst of COVID, lots of people are canceling or postponing their vacations. Unfortunately, this lack of time off is leading to fatigue and stress. Over time, your employees may experience negative effects, both mentally and physically.
You may find that even with a generous vacation policy in place, you have employees that refuse to take their allotted time off. There are many reasons for this mentality. Perhaps they feel they will have too much work to catch up on when they get back. Maybe they know that a vacation is never really a vacation because of all of the phone calls, texts, and emails that they get from their managers and colleagues. Or, perhaps you have a company culture where time off is consciously or subconsciously frowned upon, and employees feel too guilty to leave.
Whatever the reason for the lack of vacation time off, it’s important that you address the situation and make sure that time off happens. By limiting vacation accumulations and rollovers, your employees will see the “use it or lose it” policy as a reason to take their time off. Sometimes it’s just not possible to have employees take off a week or two at a time, especially during the busy season. In those circumstances, you may want to encourage mini-vacations. These mini-vacations may include half-days during the week or three- or four-day weekends throughout the year.
The stress of knowing how much heavier an employee’s workload will be when they get back from vacation can also be a disincentive to go. By scheduling a better workflow leading up to a vacation, the employee who’s leaving will be able to focus on having fun instead of the pile that will be waiting for them when they get back. It will also take the burden off of the people left behind to fill in for the employee on holiday.
It’s important that managers set a good example for their employees. Not only do leaders need to recharge too, but their employees will also use their manager’s behavior to set the precedent for their own decision as to whether or not to take time off. Vacation is not an indulgence, it’s as important to the brain as vitamins are to the body.
To sum it all up, here are three of the many benefits of scheduled vacation time.
- It reduces the risk of burnout. Employees are not robots. When they are always on the go, at some point their mental and physical exhaustion will catch up with them. Even robots need to be taken offline for routine maintenance. Think of vacations the same way.
- It rebuilds energy. Taking a break from their everyday routine gives employees a new perspective. This time off may help them find solutions to problems they’ve been stuck on.
- It strengthens relationships. When employees are stressed, there’s a good chance that they are taking out those negative emotions on their loved ones. By giving employees time off to create memories and build lasting relationships with their family and friends, you’ll have a more energized employee who is more productive at work.
Vacation time is important. If you don’t offer it, you may want to start. And if you do have a vacation policy, it’s up to you to make sure your employees actually use it.
