Give More Vacation Time to Increase Productivity
Somewhere along the line, not taking vacation time turned into a badge of honor. This is evident in all workers, but especially in COOs, CEOs, or even lower-level employees. At dinner parties, people brag about how much time they’ve banked up in vacation days, or feign exhaustion at the massive streak of consecutive days they’re at work.
Why has this become a thing to brag about? It’s not a good thing!
It Doesn’t Prove Anything
Besides it being a boring dinner conversation, taking no time off does not prove that you’re working hard. Instead, it just shows your priorities are way out of whack.
You can still love your job and love taking vacation time. Your life is more than your work. You should be living by the phrase “working to live” rather than “living to work.” A lot of people have begun living by the latter. That shouldn’t be how things are.
“While it’s casually talked about a lot in the business world, work/life balance is something we should all be taking more seriously. As our ability to be available for work becomes more prevalent, finding balance has never been more important!” – COO Alliance Blog
Everyone Deserves Vacation Time
As a leader, you should treat yourself to ample vacation time. If you do, it’s only fair that you extend that same courtesy to your employees.
Generous vacation time is one of the most significant contributors to creating a world-class culture in your company. Why wouldn’t you want a world-class culture? It’s the foundation of a successful business, so the amount of vacation time you allot is paramount.
So How Much Vacation Time?
How much vacation time is enough? That answer is simple—five weeks. Some people might look at that number and start ranting about wasted productivity or begin pointing at the calendar that’s already packed with government-mandated holidays and say that five weeks is overkill. If they do, what you have to say is that working “more” is not the same as working effectively.
As a business leader, you need to understand that tired, burnt out employees aren’t just useless, they’re downright destructive. Sloppy errors, missed deadlines, mediocre work—that is not the kind of effort that helps business leaders grow their company. Giving sufficient vacation time is one of the best ways you can make sure those errors are avoided.
More Than Just A Job
Just about any job in the world becomes just a “job” if you are at it too much. You want employees that are inspired by their work, not ones that feel drained and push themselves to keep going just because they need the job. Spreading five weeks of vacation time throughout the year allows everyone to recharge and keep enthusiasm high.
Giving generous time off also makes it easier to attract inspired and talented people that will surely care about their work. Never underestimate the power of vacation time when employees are choosing places to work. Make yours the best in town, then watch potential employees flock to you.
A Step Further
If you want it to be the most effective, you can go a step further and educate your staff members on making the most out of their vacation time. These can be tips for spreading weeks throughout the year, being sure to take time off during the mid-winter when everyone starts feeling down, or even splitting up five days and using them to make long weekends even longer during summertime.
To put this all simply, to get more out of your employees, give them more time off. They’ll thank you and you’ll be thankful you did it. Give it a try!
If you have questions or would like more information, I’d be happy to help. Please leave a comment below and my team will get in touch with you.
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Cameron Herold grew up in a small town in Northern Canada. When his father, an entrepreneur, figured out that Cameron wasn’t going to fit into what they were teaching in school—because of his severe ADD—he taught him to hate working traditional ‘jobs’ and to love creating companies that employed others.
By 18, Cameron already had 14 different little businesses and he knew he loved money, entrepreneuring and business. And by 20 years old, he owned a franchise business painting houses and had twelve employees. He spent his twenties and early 30’s heading up 3 large businesses and coaching over 120 entrepreneurs. He was also the COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, and during his 6.5 years he took the company from 2 million to 106 million.
Knowing that every CEO needs a strong COO then led Cameron to start the COO Alliance in 2016. He noticed that there were no peer groups for one of the most crucial roles in the company—the Chief Operating Officer/2nd in command.
Chief of Staff | Amplifying Executive Vision and Impact.
3 年I never quite understood the concept of accruing vacation time. Once an employee gets past the initial fit valuation phase (e.g., 90 Days), they should have all of their "time off" options available. Making them wait an entire year is a signal that you've hired the wrong person &/or have control issues.? As for the amount to give? It depends on the industry & the company's natural busy seasons, but three weeks minimum. And yes, allow employees to break up the days & use them as they please (half-days, long weekends, etc.).?
I help senior leaders upskill their managers to prevent team burnout and stop high performers from leaving | Always Available AI Leadership Coaching
3 年Let me first say I L-O-V-E PTO! My belief is to use every single hour every single year. Why? I’m a human and I need to recharge, unplug, and pursue other passions in my life that bring me immense joy. It makes me better at what I do. As a company, it’s part of our Vivid Vision for team members to unplug guilt free. Frankly, having people out on PTO helps us refine processes, documentation, and workflows because we can identify gaps from hidden knowledge and FIX it! Our combined PTO for FT team members starts at 26 days in a full calendar year. USE IT ALL!
Unlimited PTO. A new concept we are considering is a spin off this but with an added “Mandatory Minimum” amount of PTO in every 6 month interval. Even with unlimited, we want to further encourage people are using. Not implemented yet, but on table for upcoming rollout
Executive Director (CEO) at DMI
3 年Our vacation time accrues after a year you have 5 days, and it increase over time. You also get 3 days personal and 9 days sick PTO. We encourage people take time off earned as we feel work/life balance is important.
Founded A Thing Or Two | People-Person (Sometimes)
3 年We give unlimited time off. We've found otherwise that folks end up rationing PTO and don't feel inclined or comfortable to take it. It's about results, not a room full of people who show up just to be there.