Vacations Are Good for Employee and Company Well-Being

By Priscilla Kohl, HRTools Staff Writer

The Extreme American Worker

We all know people like this—or maybe it’s you! Working professionals so attached to their work, that even when they are “off the clock,” they think or dream about work on a 24/7 basis. A relatively new term has been coined for this type of worker, the “Extreme Worker.”

Are Americans Working More and More Hours?

Forty (40)-hour workweeks are a thing of the past, according to Sylvia Ann Hewlett, president of the Center for Work-Life Policy and co-author of the Harvard Business Review article, “Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek.” Not only that, some Americans view a 60-hour workweek as practically working part-time.

Hewlett says, “The fact is, extreme jobs are no longer a rarity. Our data reveal an enormous increase in work pressure for high-caliber professionals across ages, genders, sectors, and continents. Extreme jobs, we’ve found, are distributed across the economy—in large manufacturing companies as well as on Wall Street, in entertainment and media, in medicine and law, in consulting and accounting.”

Will constantly plugged-in workers negatively impact team productivity as well as their own individual productivity? Extremely long work days that turn into extremely long work weeks can end up hurting employees and, in turn, the business. What can employers do to provide employee relief, especially at a time when increasing numbers of Americans believe they cannot afford the time or money to take a vacation?

Are Vacations Becoming Passé?

Hewlett’s research found that an increasing number of Americans are taking fewer vacations. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, workers are also voluntarily canceling vacation plans, even though no one is asking them to do that.

The effects of keeping up with real or perceived extreme-job demands, combined with fears of recession and higher gas and food prices, are impacting vacation plans. According to a Yahoo!-sponsored annual summer-vacation survey report, (results released by Yahoo! Inc. on May 21, 2008), “Increasing workloads and threats of a recession have Americans feeling stressed and in desperate need of some time off.”

Employee Behavior Affects Health, Which Impacts the Bottom Line

According to Hewlett’s Aug. 22, 2007 discussion post on Harvard Business Blogs, extreme job pressures on workers take a toll on intimate relationships and personal health. Many workers, after working and commuting 10-12 hours per day, are too exhausted or drained to talk to and interact with their families. For those concerned about skyrocketing health care costs, there can also be serious health consequences and increased health risks associated with stress-related ailments such as chronic insomnia and heart and blood pressure problems.

In a nine-year study of 12,000 middle-age men, it was found that taking an annual vacation actually cuts the risk of a fatal heart attack for male employees by 32 percent. This study, also known as the “Vacation Study,” was conducted by Dr. Brooks Gump and Dr. Karen Matthews at SUNY Oswego and the University of Pittsburgh. The title of the study is: “Are Vacations Good for Your Health? The 9-Year Mortality Experience After the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial.”

Vacations are important for women’s health as well, according to the Framingham Heart Study, which started in 1948. Their studies show that women who took a vacation once every six years or less were nearly eight times more likely to develop heart disease or have a heart attack than those who took at least two vacations a year.

Lobbying Efforts to Mandate Employee Vacations

A nationwide-initiative organization, Take Back Your Time Day, is campaigning to pass legislation (labeled as the “Vacation Law”) that would mandate paid annual vacation leave to all workers. This organization seeks, thereby, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act. Whatever the motivations or goals, sweeping federal legislation affecting the workforce can be particularly difficult and complicated for smaller businesses to manage.

How Employers Can Lead Their Own Initiatives

Although employers cannot force their employees to take a vacation to the Rocky Mountains or to The Islands of the Bahamas, here are some ways to send a message: "We encourage our employees to enjoy time away with their loved ones, and we support your efforts to take care of and preserve your health.”

Fake it until you make it: Take a vacation yourself, and let your employees know that you are unplugging from the computer, the Blackberry, etc. Resist calling in to “check on things.”
Team share responsibilities: Figure out practical ways that team members can occasionally pitch in for one another throughout the year. This practice will naturally build trust between team members, and they may feel less threatened by taking time away from their jobs.
Reassure workers: Let your employees know that they are not expected to answer voice mails and e-mails while they are away. Ask them to include “auto-reply” messages that direct incoming callers or e-mailers how to get alternative solutions to problems while they are away.
Promote the value of vacations or even “mini-vacations”: Communicate and distribute information about the values of taking a vacation. If employees say that they cannot afford a vacation, get creative and offer alternative suggestions. The point you want to make is: Employees are expected to unplug from the daily pressures of working.

Vacation in Our Own Backyards

Studies show that people need to stay connected (or get reconnected) with loved ones and families in order to enjoy quality of life. If a two-week expensive vacation isn’t affordable, there are other ways to unplug from work pressures and enjoy time away. There are board games to be played, hammocks to nap in, streams to fish, walks to take, books to read and ballgames to watch and play.

Everyone benefits when employees are treated as valued human resources. Employees need healthy employers and employers need healthy employees.

Rate this content: