When I was in school, often our first assignment was to write an essay about what we did for our summer vacation. You probably had the same assignment, and were able to write, as I did, about lazy days on the beach (in my case, the Jersey shore) or at camp or on a family vacation or anywhere that was not school or work.
Fast forward to TODAY. If you were asked to write about your summer vacation, would you have a good story to tell? Or would your response be “What vacation?” If the latter, you wouldn’t be alone. A survey conducted by Skift, who tracks American travel habits, found that in 2014, 42% of Americans didn’t take a single day of vacation. Why is that? Some often-cited reasons (ahem, excuses) are: heavy workload, lack of money to “go anywhere” and the perception that people who take time off are less dedicated.
It may also stem from the fact that the United States is the only advanced economy that does not require its employers to offer their workers paid vacation time. In their report, No-Vacation Nation Revisited, researchers at the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that:
• Nearly one-fourth of U.S. companies offer no paid time off
• Those companies that do offer an average of only 10 days vacation per year
Compare this to European countries where employers are required by law to offer at least 20 days per year. And they expect their employees to take it! In Austria, the typical employee gets 25 days annual leave plus 13 paid holidays. Now that’s a vacation!
It amazes me that so many people in the U.S. who DO have the opportunity to take time off don’t take it. Even those working for companies that have unlimited or more generous than average time off policies. Back to that 42%. If you’re in that category, you are missing out on myriad benefits from getting away from the office. And I mean REALLY getting away. Not just moving your electronics to the beach! Research shows that time away from work:
• Improves overall health
• Increases creativity (New experiences! Different scenery!)
• Provides for quality time with family
• Ignites neural connections (Increasing your brain power, and that’s got to be good!)
• Increases productivity upon return
So what are you waiting for? There are still a few weeks left before summer officially ends. Do yourself a favor and use up some of those vacation days to take a well-deserved break. Even if you take a “stay vacation” (note: without electronics). You’ll feel better for it. Your family will feel better for it. And, yes, the company will survive while you’re gone.
Get working on that essay!
Till next time,
Karen
