This month’s one thing: Take a real vacation.

It’s August, the month that most of Europe heads to the beach. Have you taken a real vacation this summer? Or are you hurling toward the back-to-school frenzy, having only taken a half-baked one?

For most of us, the latter is the case. Or, as Courtney Vinopal put it in a recent article, “Americans are bad at taking vacation,” taking a full six days fewer vacation days than the global average, which is 18, according to Expedia’s latest Vacation Deprivation study. Unlike our European counterparts, the US is the only advanced economy that doesn’t mandate paid vacation. Moreover, a recent poll from Fishbowl by Glassdoor found that over half of working professionals never fully unplug during vacation time. Vacation time doesn’t necessarily have to include travel, but rather spending time doing the things you enjoy, that allow you to fully unplug and mentally recharge.

But, clearly, vacation time is looming large for many of us, with mentions of “unlimited” policies up 75% since pre-pandemic, according to this same survey.

The fact that we live in an “always on” culture is a large contributing factor. I, for one, know that when I head up to our family spot in Maine (starting on Thursday), a familiar site will be a table full of solar-powered battery packs attached to cell phones, tablets and laptops. And a familiar sound will be shouting into conference calls in the few spots on the remote island where there’s cell coverage.

We are collectively burned out, exhausted, actively and “quietly” quitting, and have had enough. So, is an unlimited vacation policy the answer, as modeled by leading companies like Netflix? I asked this question in my latest #HealthyDebate. 63% said “Yes” and 37% said “No.”

Here’s more about what I heard.

Unlimited vacation can work.

Unlimited vacation policy means that employees can take as many vacation days as they want, provided that they complete their tasks. According to Rick Rockhold, Senior Vice President of Credit and Capital Markets at Liberty Commercial Finance LLC, “We have unlimited PTO. It’s a privilege that no one on our team abuses. The benefit to employers is that they no longer have to accrue vacation time for each employee.”

In many cases, though, it sounds good, but….

Katherine Adamenko explained that “Unlimited vacation is misleading and sets up for unequal distribution.” According to Emilie Jackson, “Statistically, when companies have unlimited vacation people actually use less of it. It’s nice on paper but the reality may not mean that people are taking more time off.” Moreover, it may result in less productivity, as noted by Gabriel (Konnor) Lewis.

So, what might companies do instead?

Consider “minimums.”

One idea that was brought up several times was the idea of “minimums” in lieu of “unlimited.” Matthew Percia explained, “I think changing to ‘minimum’ values instead of ‘maximums’ could provide to be very beneficial instead of saying ‘limited vs. unlimited.’” As he further explained, “Saying you have to take ‘a minimum of X consecutive days off per quarter’ (for example) with the flexibility of taking more may promote a lower stress response on the end of the employees.”

Rosa Castano concurred. “I agree with taking a ‘minimum’ because I have also found people end up taking less time when it’s unlimited.”

In Europe, that minimum is 4 weeks of paid vacation time, as mandated by European Union legislation.

Engage leaders.

You need policies, like minimums or 4-day work weeks (as suggested by Walter Ziske), but you also need support from leaders, shown in the form of active modeling. As Erica Thomas put it, “Gotta have the actual support for it (not just the policy), the modeling from leadership/supervisors, and the planning so that taking a break does not result in double the work when you return.”

In the US, it takes 20 years of service to reach an average of 20 vacation days a year. And, yet, ironically, those very people who are entitled to more vacation time – and are often the ones in those leadership roles – are actually less likely to fully unplug, as compared with their younger peers! That is, 65% of older professionals (aged 45 and above) are reporting that they are not able to fully unplug, compared with 47% of younger professionals, between the ages of 21 and 25.

As Melanie Langsett, Director of Global Benefits and Rewards for Deloitte noted in a recent interview, “If the executives aren’t taking time off, what does that say to the rest of the organization?”

Create new norms.

Ultimately, the goal is to create a new norm, whereby taking a decent amount of fully unplugged vacation is just normal and “what we do.” As Katherine Adamenko clarified, “Better to mirror European standards of 5-6 weeks as the norm. Now that would be something.”

Yes, that would be something.

Tune in this Wednesday!

Tune in on Wednesday for more on this topic as I chat with Jen Fisher, Chief Wellbeing Officer at Deloitte on the topic “How to Find the Off Button in an Always-On Culture.” RSVP and learn more, here.

About The Author:

Laura Putnam, CEO, Motion Infusion & Author of?Workplace Wellness That Works?on the focus areas when it comes to the well-being of employees.?Motion Infusion?is on a mission to promote employee health, happiness, and well-being. Laura Putnam is a leading catalyst for well-being at work, an international public speaker, and author of “Workplace Wellness That Works.” As CEO of Motion Infusion and creator of the leadership training program Managers on the Move, she infuses well-being into the workplace to help employees, teams and organizations thrive. Subscribe to Laura’s newsletter,?here.?