Why Organizations Should Allow Employees to Take More Vacations
23 Jul 2021
Image by romaneau from Pixabay
The last thing a manager wants to hear from their employees are reasons that affect the productivity of a company. It can be a missing deadline, a job offer from a competitor, or even vacation plans.
Most of us are probably aware of the importance of vacations to employees. They devote a considerable part of their lives to work while helping their employers boost their bottom line. In turn, companies provide employees with leave credits or paid time off to enjoy their personal lives beyond their office cubicles. Despite the benefits offered by employee vacations, not all choose to take their paid time off because of the fear of missing deadlines or getting drowned from a pile of work upon return.
Forward-thinking companies who are aware of the value of employee vacations are putting effort into designing the best vacation scheme for their employees. They allow them to travel or bond over team-building activities. Those who want to treat their employees for some nature adventure offer a beach vacation or a trip on Gold Coast fishing charters to try offshore or deep-sea fishing.
If you’ve been noticing your employees have been extra sluggish or weary lately, maybe it’s time to encourage them to take a paid vacation. In fact, allowing employees to take a vacation has positive effects on the company as a whole. To know about the implications of vacation on employee wellness, keep reading below.
The negative effects of refusing vacations
Job burnout is a unique case of work-related stress, where a person enters a state of emotional and physical exhaustion. If this persists, this will affect a person’s overall health and sense of accomplishment and self-identity.
Burnout can take a toll on employees’ productivity by reducing their level of satisfaction in work and personal life. When workers devote long hours at work, their jobs will define their existence by losing their sense of balance between professional life and personal life.
The idea of employees’ extreme devotion to their jobs gave way to a new term called “workism.” It refers to the belief that work is not only imperative to the economy but also the centerpiece of an individual’s life purpose and personal identity.
A deeply-rooted devotion to our jobs may potentially benefit an employee and organization. For example, work devotion benefits an employee by offering feelings of fulfillment and empowerment in their careers, while employers reward employees for their efforts to boost the company’s performance. But anything that’s too much is not healthy. If devotion goes overboard, this can incur damaging effects not only on the employee but also the company.
Job burnout kills work productivity. When an employee suffers from burnout, work engagement decreases and so does the company’s performance. Burnout also has long-term impacts that cause devastating effects on employees’ health. These include fatigue, insomnia, sadness, mood swings, substance abuse, heart disease, and diabetes, to name a few.
While it’s natural for employers to expect employees to be dedicated to the organization, it’s important to determine the potential downsides caused by over-dedication.
Why vacation is good for your employees and business
Any person fears the idea of leaving a pile of work, but taking a vacation is something your employees need to give them a fresh dose of energy to tackle daily work tasks. To reap the many benefits of vacations, employers must encourage their employees to use their paid time off or vacations days without giving them extra work upon return.
Going on a long vacation allows people to unwind, recharge, and forget about their work-related stresses. This will give them more time to compensate for the lost time with their family and personal life. In turn, this will boost overall happiness, enhance creativity, strengthen relationships, and improve their physical and mental health.
Vacations will not only benefit employees but also employers. Workers who utilize their vacation are likely to be high-performance employees who exhibit increased productivity and better work satisfaction. Allowing them to travel will also boost their morale which leads to higher retention rates.
The likelihood of employee absences and tardiness will also decrease if organizations are open to the idea of letting employees travel. This is possible by making travel as part of work and offering travel packages as performance incentives.
The bottom line
The modern society has romanticized the idea of hard work that it has taken a huge toll on employees’ health and well-being. Given the financial worries and work pressures, employers should make serious efforts on keeping their employees satisfied and fulfilled. Thus, allowing employees to take a vacation and creating a solid vacation policy are the keys to ensuring a healthy workforce.
Cheers,
Big Daddy
If you would like me to review your product, service, restaurant, or travel destination, please send me an email at craig@bigdaddykreativ.ca or tweet me at @BigDaddyKreativ
Craig Silva
Craig is a husband, father, team leader, travel and food writer, senior youth group coordinator, designer, brander, community builder, volunteer, and social media strategist. He likes to travel, go camping, go on road trips, watch movies, build stuff, operate the grill, and sing with his band. Craig is a member of the Travel Media Association of Canada. If you are a PR agency or brand and would like Craig to review a travel destination, vehicle, restaurant, product or service, please send him an email.
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