Lead By Leaving: Why Taking a Vacation Could Help Your Office

When was the last time you took a vacation? If you’re like many American business leaders, it’s been awhile since you stepped away from the office. In fact, across all levels, most American employees don’t take many vacations compared to the rest of the world. This isn’t necessarily a good trend, though. If you’re a business leader in the U.S., it’s time to reconsider the role of vacation and begin realizing the importance of relaxation. Here’s why, along with how you can help.

The “No-Vacation Nation”

The Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) published a study in May 2013 with a provoking title: “No-Vacation Nation Revisited.” The study looked at legally mandated vacation and holidays in 21 developed countries. If you can’t guess what country had the lowest levels government-required paid time off, pull out your own benefits package.

The United States stood alone among the 21 countries surveyed, as the only one that had no legally mandated paid leave or paid holidays. The next-closest country to the U.S. was Japan, which requires employers to provide 10 days of paid leave each year.

On the other end of the spectrum, Austria provided employees with the most paid time off. Austrians receive 25 days of paid leave and 13 paid holidays annually; overnight workers and employees with more than 25 years of experience are awarded additional time off. While Austria was the most generous, its benefits are not extreme outliers:

• France requires 30 days of paid vacation and one paid holiday
• The United Kingdom offers 28 days of paid vacation (but no paid holidays)
• Portugal provides 22 days of paid vacation and 13 paid holidays

Admittedly, these numbers only include paid time off that employers are legally required to provide. Many companies in the U.S. provide paid vacation, sick days, personal days and holidays. The CEPR’s study found that the average American worker receives 16 paid days off each year. This still ranks the U.S. among the lowest of the developed countries surveyed in paid time off, though.

The Country of Workaholics

The lack of vacation time in the U.S. reflects a culture that praises productivity, and this can be seen in how employees use (or don’t use) their vacation time. Citing an Oxford Economics study, CNBC reports that Americans only use 77 percent of the paid time off that they’re eligible for. CNBC doesn’t detail why employees don’t use all of their vacation time, but it’s not hard to imagine the reasons. Employees are often:

• concerned that work will pile up while they’re gone
• already overwhelmed with their workload
• determined to show dedication to their employer
• worried about their performance reviews
• inundated with work-related texts and emails, even when not at the office

In short, employees in the U.S. are workaholics. They value productivity (or at least the illusion of it, even if they aren’t actually getting much done). As Joe Robinson of Work to Live argues, “the only thing that matters is performance and output.” If you doubt this, review when you last took that vacation, and then look at when your employees last used their paid time off.

The Law of Diminishing Returns

The law of diminishing returns, however, dictates that as people work more, the return on their efforts decreases. In other words, forgoing vacations is actually detrimental to productivity. As USA Today explains, vacations have several benefits for employees and employers. They:

• restore health, which reduces the likelihood that employees will need to call in sick
• refresh creativity and innovation, giving employees the freedom to approach problems in new ways
• improve productivity, providing an economic net gain for employers

It may be counterintuitive, but taking vacations is actually good for you, your employees, your company and the U.S.’s economy.

Your Role in The Solution

As a business leader, you have an important role in promoting paid time off among U.S. employers.

First, depending on your role, you may be in a position to provide employees with more paid time off. If so, then argue for additional vacation days, personal days, holidays and sick days.

Second, you owe it to yourself and your company to take time off. If you’re a high-level executive and need to be available, take your phone with you on a trip. If you’re concerned about how taking your allotted time off will impact your review, discuss it with your supervisor and detail how your productivity increased afterwards. (You might save a large project for when you get back.) Whatever it takes, make vacation a priority and find a way to use your time off.

Third, encourage those under you to do the same. Whenever possible, honor requests for time off. It will improve morale and satisfaction, not to mention productivity.

If you haven’t taken a vacation in a long time, schedule one now. It will help you, and it’s an important step towards turning the “no-vacation nation” into a nation of healthy, creative and productive employees.