When was the last time you took a vacation?

Welcome to Lead With Inclusion! This weekly newsletter is a resource for EVERY professional. Whether you’re a manager ready to be a more inclusive leader, or an employee ready to be a DEI champion in your workplace, inclusive actions lead to inclusive outcomes. Leading with inclusion simply means starting with inclusive actions in everything you do. It means identifying the areas where bias is at work, and shifting mindsets to make change.?

If you’re not sure where to begin, start here.

Here’s a question: how much of your available time off balance have you used so far this year? When you want to use your vacation time, do you feel comfortable doing so?

I was recently reading a blog post that offered tips for employees who want to take time off but don’t know how to ask. And this got me thinking: is there a bigger problem here? How have we gotten ourselves to a place where employees feel uncomfortable, anxious or downright fearful about asking for time off? Shouldn’t it just be a given??

Well…not quite. Many professionals in today’s workplaces feel hesitant to take time off - and even if they do take the time, many feel guilty or worried that they’re not working hard enough. In fact, a recent study found that 35% of workers feel an implicit expectation to work through their vacations, and 41% of those respondents feel a sense of guilt if they don’t comply.

If we look at employers outside of the US, we’ll find that this problem is in many ways unique to this country. For example, time off is a standard expectation in many European countries. It’s just part of the culture. Employees don’t have to beg for time off - they’re expected to take it.

This reminded me of an experience from my own professional career. A number of years ago, I was working at a corporate organization while studying to get my MBA. I came across a class I wanted to take for my degree, but noticed that the class was only being offered during the daytime (when I was normally working). The class would have only been one day a week for about 6-7 weeks, so I thought to myself: why don’t I request to use one vacation day a week so that I can take this course? I reached out to my boss to put in the request, but to my surprise, they responded by saying that I wasn’t allowed to use my vacation time this way. I remember thinking to myself at the time how nonsensical that seemed. Why are managers telling their employees when and how they can use their time off? Shouldn’t time off be available for the employees to use however they choose?

And if you’re wondering what time off has to do with inclusion, the two are deeply related. For employers who truly want to foster inclusion, scheduling flexibility and freedom in taking time off are essential for creating a culture that’s inclusive of employees of all identities. Think about employees who are parents, caregivers, or students - are we being inclusive of their schedules in a way that allows them to do their work and still be allowed to live their lives? What about employees with mental health conditions or chronic illnesses that require intermittent time off? Or what about employees who want to observe a religious holiday or cultural celebration that their organization doesn’t recognize? (ICYMI, I wrote about floating holidays in a past issue of Lead With Inclusion, and you can check it out here .)

The fact of the matter is: employees should be able to use their time off however they choose, and should feel comfortable to do so. At the same time, I recognize that the culture within many of our organizations makes this challenging. So, how do we shift the culture? Here are my thoughts:

Be an Inclusive Leader

I’m going to put this as simply as I possibly can: we need to stop policing people’s time off. And I don’t just mean on a one-off basis. There is a much larger mindset shift that needs to happen in understanding that we all deserve time away from work. And not only do we deserve it, we need it. Studies have found that taking time off can improve our wellbeing in multiple ways. Don’t believe me? Check out this recent article from the Harvard Business Review.

Time off is a necessity. No one should have to beg for it. If it feels like you need to police your team members’ time off due to your organization’s current policies, then it’s time to start thinking about changing those policies. And just as important, start to shift your own perspective about time off. If you never use your own vacation days because you’re ‘too busy,’ you may be part of the problem. Your own actions can contribute to a culture where employees feel scared to use their own time. Lead by example. Start unpacking this culture and dismantling it. And listen to feedback from your employees when they give it.

Lead With Inclusion

It’s no question that our workplace cultures do make it difficult to ask for and take the time off that you need. However, think about the things that are within your power to control. How can you start to advocate for yourself? While it can feel safer sometimes to just accept things the way they are, this ultimately doesn’t serve you. Start to ask why things are the way they are. Make sure you’re doing your best to share your feedback on this when the time comes. Participate in your organization’s surveys. If you have employee resource groups, consider bringing this issue to the group to gain more perspectives and create a plan to take action. Do what you can to empower yourself and your peers to create change, at least to the extent that you can. Your time off should be yours. We all deserve to be able to use it how we choose.

Speaking of time off, here’s a quick heads up that Rework Work will be taking our annual summer break from August 20th - September 5th, which means we’ll be closed for business during those two weeks. But don’t worry! Lead With Inclusion will still be up and running during our two-week break, so we’ll still be bringing you brand new issues of the newsletter every Wednesday. Be sure to check back here weekly for more tips on taking inclusive action in your workplace.\

Did you know you can find all of our past issues of Lead With Inclusion in our Rework Workspace? Sign up today to check out this and many other free resources here .?

About Stacey Gordon:

Stacey Gordon is Executive Advisor and Founder of Rework Work where she and her team coach and counsel executive leaders on DEI strategies for the business, while offering a no-nonsense approach to unconscious bias education for the broader employee population. As a global keynote speaker, Stacey is a Top Voice on LinkedIn and a popular LinkedIn Learning [IN]structor with nearly two million unique learners enjoying her courses.?