Summer in the workplace can be a time of ease or a time of
stress. Only one aspect of the business world can make a difference which one
may occur.
Leaving It On The Table
More than fifty percent of employees don’t take all their
paid vacation time, according to a report by Project: Time Off. Approximately
222 million of those days go to waste because they cannot be rolled over,
banked or paid out. The main reason employees don’t use all of their time off:
they are afraid they will not have a job to come back to. Blame this thought on
the Great Recession. And now get over it. Most businesses give some vacation
time to staff, and in most cases it is accrued. Even though some long time staffers
accrue weeks and weeks of paid time off, some of it is left on the table to be
swept in the proverbial garbage can at the end of the year. Take back the time
you earned.
Vacation Takers
People who use their vacation time are more likely to return
to work more relaxed, rested and focused than people who don’t use their
vacation time. In addition, US Media Studios learns that the new policies of
unlimited vacation days may do more harm than good. It’s a nice thought, but
workers could take advantage of it, employees at all career levels may feel
they are being monitored on the number of days off and how productive someone
is in the office. Nonetheless, the unlimited days policies could be the panacea
management and employees need to recharge and refocus, and in turn, become more
committed to the job and the company.
Take It or Leave It
There will always be people on both sides of this fence. We
all know colleagues who think they are too valuable to take time off,
co-workers who think they will be canned if they take a long weekend, and those
who believe if they clock longer hours that the reward will be greater. In
fact, this is not true. Research shows that employees who took 11 or more
vacation days a year were more likely to get a raise or bonus compared to those
who less days off. So, get out of town, already!
