Consider these statistics:
2/3 of Americans feel moderately burned out
In 2020, Americans left 33% of their paid time off on the table which was about 5.6 days, 2021 saw an improvement, only 4.6 days were unused 🙄
52% of business owners have not taken vacation in the past year, with 62% reporting working longer hours
I get that it was difficult to take a true vacation the last two years. I know restrictions started lifting not too long ago. Even so, I still hear of people working through their time off - both vacation time and weekends. Breaks and lunch hours are getting missed too.
Blurred Lines are Continuing to Blur
Prior to the Pandemic being “busy” was a status symbol. During the Pandemic we substituted our commute for working and then the blur between time at work and time on began. And even though we talked about how things would change in our “new normal” we may have forgotten some lessons we learned.
The new compromise is the “workcation", which is remotely working from another location. According to a Kayak study, 1/5 of employed Americans are planning for this. Kayak even created a Work From Wherever Guide. A change of scenery is good, but all you are doing is working from another location. Could we just call it what it is - working remotely?
The Cost
Hate to say it - but it can be a life or death issue. Research from the World Health Organization “found that working 55 hours or more a week was associated with a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease than a workweek of 35 to 40 hours.”
Additionally, according to a 2021 American Psychological Association survey the impact of burnout can be:
Poor decision making
Low productivity
Lack of motivation, energy
Higher stress
Physical fatigue
Decrease in mental health
Increased cynicism
The Benefits
We all know that taking time off is an important part of dealing with burn out and stress, as well as impact our overall health and wellbeing. You even Increase in your quality of sleep.
Here is how truly taking your time off impacts work (yes, lunch and breaks included):
Higher capacity to think creatively and make decisions
Higher level of focus (30% increase just from taking a break every 90 minutes)
It improves your capacity to learn
Improvement in mindfulness
Potential for raises - research shows that those who take more than 10 days of vacation are 30% more likely to receive a raise, and those who take regular vacations have greater job satisfaction.
From an employer perspective, 79% of full-time employees agree that taking vacation is important to job satisfaction. Can we say “retention helper”?
All signs point to a better work product, better service, better culture, happier employees and better you.
Treat Time Off & Vacations Like a Product
So where to start? First, you have to switch your mindset to thinking about your time off and vacation like a product/service. In other words - your product/service is a priority - so should your time off be.
What actions to take? It doesn’t have to be grand gestures of forced time off or turning off the power at 5:00pm (although that would do it! : ). You can start with simple steps. Here’s a few ideas.
Just like when you have to focus on production time - choose a day or two where you will shut completely down from work - could be the weekends, an evening. Use the many tech tools out there to turn things off.
You schedule client time - so set alarms to take a 15 minute break every 90minutes or schedule it into your day if you have to. (Another trick is to schedule 15, 30 or 45 minute meetings. No 60 minute meetings - you’d be surprised what you can get done.)
When planning your vacation - treat it like a project. (if you have taken a a maternity leave, a medical leave, etc. you’ve done this type of work!)
What has to be done by when?
Who has to know?
What happens during?
Schedule a pre-vacation day - a day to tie up loose ends and pack!
Schedule a post-vacation day(s) - time to sort and ease back in. Plus - add a post-mortem - what would you do differently for your next vacation?
I could go on….
To produce top quality products and/or services - you need to be at your best. That means living a life as a full human. So breaks, time off, vacations - those are just as, if not more important than your products. That’s my argument for treating your vacation as a product!
OH! And if you are going to take a “workcation”, schedule actual days off during that time where you shut everything down. Separate the work and vacation.
You’ll be more present and enjoy the trip if you do. Again - better living as a full human.
Related Post: Turning Off the Always On
