According to Canadian HR Reporter, only 29% of Canadian workers used all their allotted vacation time in 2022. Add to that the fact that 54% of workers continue to work while on vacation, and it’s clear that our culture is not naturally inclined to unplug and take time away. The downside to this is that a whopping 70% of people have experienced mental health issues due to overworking.
Taking vacation time is critical. Harvard Business Review reported in 2017 that in an experiment that forced people to take their vacation time, creativity went up by 33%, happiness levels rose 25%, and productivity increased by 13%.
Enabling Vacations as Part of Your Culture
Vacations are tricky because, in the short run, their immediate result is stalled productivity. Projects slow down. Emails aren’t returned. Face-time disappears. But those are all short-term costs that are far outweighed by the long-term gains. So the key question is: how can we minimize the short-term costs and maximize the long-term gains? Here are some ideas:
Make vacation time visible: This allows teams to anticipate absences and project-plan around them. It also allows managers to ensure their team members are planning to take their days off.
Assign clear backup coverage: Developing a culture where employees are able to fill in for one another while they’re away can significantly reduce the delays incurred while people are on vacation. This not only keeps things moving at work, but frees the mind of the employee on vacation so that they can reap the benefits of their time off.
Avoid bottlenecks: Build out a project roadmap and try to avoid major deadlines or launches when large portions of the team are likely to be away. If this timing can’t be avoided, try to stagger workloads and clarify decision-making authority in advance to minimize surprises and delays.
Normalize real disconnection: To get the benefits of time off, people need to actually disconnect. Create a culture that allows people to truly rest and reset mentally.
Debrief on return: Build a formal debrief process to get employees back up to speed once they return.
Culture Starts at the Top
If leaders want to realize the strategic gains from employees taking regular, restful time away, they must invest in creating that culture. That means approaching this topic strategically and modelling the behaviours they want to see in the rest of the organization.
The right partner can help you nail this part of your culture and seize the significant long-term benefits for your organization’s performance. If this sounds like the type of culture you’d like to build, reach out and we’ll get to work (rested and recharged, of course).
