A no vacation nation

It's Friday and the weekend is upon us. But, Americans are terrible at taking time off. Although some commentators point at company policies, the fact remains that regardless of the policy American workers don't take time off. Vacation and time off from work is essential to mental health, and improves productivity. Yet, culturally, Americans are hard-wired to think that time off is for slackers. Even when Americans take time "off," they work while on vacation or on weekends and don't actually unplug from work. Europeans take the opposite approach. If you ever seen an out of office from a European worker, it won't apologize for taking time off, nor will it say that a response will come shortly. Instead, it will say something to the effect that the person is not working and you'll have to come back later. Why? Because time off is actually time off in Europe. American workers' mental health and productivity will continue to suffer until companies, CEOs, and supervisors down the chain make it clear that the time off is culturally supported and encouraged. How does your company encourage and support time off? #work #mentalhealth #productivity

What's my secret to staying motivated at work? I'm really good at vacationing. Americans are notorious for not taking a break. The average U.S. worker took less than 12 days of vacation in 2021 — yet an overwhelming majority of workers say taking vacations makes them feel more patient and motivated when they're back on the job. As you settle back in after the long weekend, here are some great tips for setting yourself up for success when planning, taking and returning from your next vacation. #vacation #PTO #mentalhealth #leadership

Let’s start a discussion. It is proven by many studies that European workers have increased productivity even though they have many more PTO, sick days and Paid Holidays vs Americans. As someone having lived and worked on both continents, I feel burn outs and mental health issues are a bigger issue on US soil. Many Europeans (again studies, not my personal opinion) are likely to take less sick days because of their vacation policies. What do you think?! Below is a slight exaggeration but you get the gist of it ??

Working continuously without taking vacation time for yourself can have real consequences. #vacation

And nine European countries go so far as to give workers the right to take all or some of their leave during summer — peak vacation season, the report said

With nearly every agency striving to do "more with less", taking the time to recharge away from work is key. You can't be an asset to your team if you're neglecting your mental health by not taking those occasional breaks. It's something that I'm trying to get better at each day too...!

This article from Inc. touches a great point about American culture of taking very short vacations during the year. From my experience working in U.S. I noticed most people take 1-2 days added to weekends, and maybe a week during the summer.? This contrasts with Latin America and Europe cultures where people take longer vacations, typically 2 to 4 weeks. You can pretend your team does not need a break, but it's clear that they do. While a simple vacation won't magically cure burnout, it's one tool you can use to help your employees. #people #culture #burnout #stress #mentalhealth Marcia Torres Doreen Barth Paolo Bicca da Silva SONIA GURGEL Kee Hoo Kelly Chapman Maggie Helm James Yancey Julie Walter Suzanne Lucas

Take a vacation for you, your family, and even the people that you work with. You need a break from work and work probably needs a break from you. “This year, Desiree Pascual, chief people officer at Headspace Health, decided to save herself the trouble and convey in her OOO message: ‘I am currently on vacation, and I will not review any emails that come in while I’m away, including after I get back.’ Instead, she expects anyone who really needs to get in touch will do so once she’s back.” #health #worklifebalance #mentalhealthandwellbeing