May 26, 2017
Pattie Lovett-Reid: 5 reasons you need to take time off
In an environment where you may worry about being considered dispensable, it is no wonder many are deciding to forgo vacation time away from the office. We are almost halfway through the year, and according to Glassdoor, U.S. employees have only taken about half of their eligible vacation time in the past 12 months.
Only 23 per cent of those surveyed said they used all of their vacation over the last year, and two out of three said they worked while away. Some of this may have to do with employer expectations – one in four believe they are expected to stay up-to-date when out of the office, with one in four having their boss contact them while they are away.
There are so many reason why you might decide not to take vacation – you can’t afford it, fear of losing your job, the office can’t get along without you, to name a few. But here are five reasons why your family will thank you if you do take some R&R.
1. If you don’t plan to take time off now, research suggests you probably won’t. According to Glassdoor, despite vacation being one of the top three employer-provided benefits shown to increase employee satisfaction, many workers don’t feel that they can take adequate time.
2. We can’t unplug. We’ve all been on vacation and the flow of emails doesn’t stop. It is a hard trend to shake – but for your health you need to.
3. If you don’t prioritize vacation time, neither will your colleagues or boss.
4. Taking personal time off gets harder when you make more money, and the more responsibilities you have. It is true, climb the corporate ladder and often a sacrifice of senior management means not taking a disturbance-free vacation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t manage the process.
5. Burnout can increase as a result of not taking time off. Employers should know this but sometimes overlook it. When employees finally do take time off, it can often result in time spent looking for a job.
