Vacation time and productivity- Why we need to take a break but don't

The multiple benefits for taking your full vacation

-by Stephanie Wachman

When it comes to taking time off from work, America is way behind other countries. Not only are the average number of paid holidays much lower than elsewhere, the number of unused holidays is also higher than you might expect. And even though that behavior might suggest an enthusiastic and conscientious staff member, its behavior that's also likely to impact employee stress and productivity levels.

Even among those workers who do take most or all of their paid holidays, two-out-of-three check in with work emails or answer a call from the office when they should be taking a break.

An office with fewer staff away on vacation at any one time, might sound like a beneficial situation. However, this is rarely the case, either for the employees or the company.

Unused holiday

Many workers find, they have one or two days left over at the end of the year. Research by GlassDoor shows that only 23% of US employees took their full allocation in the 12 months to April 2017.

The US Travel Association is a leading member of Project Time Off, an initiative to encourage Americans to take more vacation time. It looks into why vacation goes unused and the benefits of taking your vacation. It also undertakes research detailing how much vacation time is used across the country.

Figures from a recent Project Time Off study show that in 2016, some 54% of US workers didn't take all their allocated holidays. While that's a slight improvement from the 55% who said the same thing in 2015, it's still a very high number, that translates into 662 million unused vacation days in the US.

Not taking holidays also means employees are effectively returning some of their benefits to their employers and losing out on a collective $66.4 billion - or $604 per employee.

Too dedicated?

While many US workers intend to take their full holiday allocation each year, they don't. And, Project Time Off's study also highlights that women are the worst offenders and less likely to take all their vacation time than men. The reasons are varied and include:

• Feeling guilty about not being in the office.
• Worrying there'll be too much to catch up on when they return.
• Seen as less important if they aren't there all the time.
• Accepting that it's just a company culture expectation.

But, in many cases it could be that Leadership is setting the example for men and women. Even Leadership suggests you "take all your holiday", if they don't do the same, then staff perceive it to be 'wrong' to take all their vacation time.

Vacation is good for your health. That's your physical and mental health.

A 1992 study, which is still considered important reference material, found that men who don't take vacations are 30% more likely to have a heart attack. The same was true of 50% of women. And, while the research was conducted over 20 years ago, the results were taken from 20 years' worth of research, making it a pretty reliable resource. But that's not all. Mental health can also suffer without a real break from work. More vacation leads to a reduction in stress, and it also helps you to sleep better and feel happier.

Organization who encourage vacation taking have found their employees to be less stressed and more productive.

Employers whose staff take their vacation are more productive and creative than those who don't.

And, research also shows that those who take more than 11 vacation days each year are more likely to have received additional financial rewards such as a raise or bonus than those who took ten days or fewer.

Whichever way you look at it, taking your allocated holiday time is beneficial, to you, your health, your employer, your team and the economy. So, rather than spending your time at work worrying about what you'll miss when you're not there - or what you'll come back to - spend your much earned vacation time enjoying yourself. That way, you'll feel happier and come back to work re-energized, ready to focus and with a clear head and innovative ideas!