June 2015: Vacations Positively Impact Work Performance

It’s that time of the year again…summer is rolling around and kids are wrapping up their school year.  It’s time to think about planning that summer vacation, or perhaps a “stay-cation.”   If you’re debating whether or not you can “afford” to take time off of work for vacation this year, it might be interesting for you to read an article published by the U.S. Travel Association entitled “Executive Summary: Vacation’s Impact on the Workplace.”  You can read the article in its entirety at: http://www.projecttimeoff.com/resources/executive-summary/vacations-impact-workplace-executive-summary.  Following are some excerpts that I think you’ll find interesting.  Whether you get to take that “trip of a lifetime” or just enjoy a quiet long weekend in a lounge chair on your deck at home, please be safe and have a happy and enjoyable summer! C>


 

HR managers agree that employees who take most or all of their vacation time are more productive and happier in their jobs than those who do not. Taking advantage of available vacation time improves employee job satisfaction, according to nearly eight in ten (78%) human resource managers. HR professionals also believe that if employees started taking more of their available time off to recharge, it would lead to higher levels of job satisfaction (74%) and increased employee engagement at work (67%).

According to HR professionals, taking more vacation may boost employee performance. According to 69 percent of those surveyed, taking more of one’s available vacation also leads to better job performance.

Despite overwhelming agreement from talent leaders that vacation delivers clear benefits, employees are still leaving time on the table. Six in ten organizations (61%) report that their employees fail to use an average of three or more days of paid vacation each year. Among organizations that allow employees to roll over vacation time from year to year, only 31 percent indicate that “most employees” (81-100% of workforce) use all of their vacation days. One-fifth (19%) of respondents with rollover policies say their employees fail to use between six and eight vacation days annually.

HR professionals at organizations with “use it or lose it” policies report higher rates of productivity and greater employee retention than firms with rollover policies. One reason for this could be that “use it or lose it” policies ensure workers experience the advantages of time away. An overwhelming majority (85%) of talent managers at “use it or lose it” organizations agree that employees who take most or all of their vacation time are more productive in their jobs, 16-percentage points higher than HR managers at “rollover” firms (69%). Fully seven in ten respondents (70%) in organizations with a “use it or lose it” policy believe that employees who take all of their vacation will stay with their jobs longer, while just more than half (55%) of those with rollover policies agree.

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