Nobody would think of suggesting that vacations are not necessary for a worker, and even for the health of a company. The routine of a worker includes a series of daily activities that, although they may seem simple or typical of their role (meetings, calls, presentations, evaluations, deliveries…), can take their toll if it is not possible to disconnect assertively once working hours are over. .
On weekends they act as an air valve and provide space to take a breather, take time off and rest, clear the head and resume work with recharged batteries. But two days a week are insufficient to sustain a year of work and any Human Resources department knows it: a worker with burnout, no matter how talented, will not be in a position to give us their best ideas or their best performance if they do not assume break time as a vital part of your routine.
For this reason, the importance of vacations is not a subject under discussion: more and more studies show that reduced working hours, flexible hours and annual vacations result in motivated, energetic workers willing to give their best performance for the project, Contrary to the old belief that more is better when it comes to performance at work and that rest time is wasted time.
Why are vacations important?
Let’s do an exercise: imagine that for a week you are forbidden to sleep, because the amount of pending things on your list is infinite and rest is not an option. It is possible that the first day will be very productive, even the second and third, but the morning of the fourth day of non-stop work, the body will start to fail from sleep deprivation. You may be able to stay awake, but your performance will be subpar, risking not only health consequences but poor performance of the job you’re trying to complete at all costs.
The same scenario occurs when we talk about paid work vacations. We do not lack reasons to acclaim the importance of vacations within any context (work, school, social); We could start to mention reasons at large -because there are-, but in order to make the importance of vacations for your team very clear, we can mention the following reasons:
Improve work performance: a study from the University of Singapore states that not only the time you take off is important, but also what you do with it. When traveling, for example, energy is recharged and creativity is stimulated, which will allow you to return to your duties with clear ideas and motivation through the roof.
Reduces stress levels: when you have specific rest days outside of weekends, the process of mental disconnection and rest is much easier. Being in an environment away from work allows day-to-day problems to be seen with perspective and to be nuanced effectively.
Reduces the risk of depression: having time to dedicate to leisure activities allows you to relax your mind, find the calm that escapes during daily workdays, and dedicate time to rest without incurring guilt or remorse for work not done. Work overload and little free time are two factors of weight in crises of depression and the deterioration will be noticeable sooner rather than later if vacations are not assumed as an important factor in work performance.
Increase productivity: on the side of the company’s internal performance, vacations also translate into increased productivity on the part of employees. A rested, clear-headed and mentally fresh worker is available to use their abilities to the fullest for solving problems and carrying out the tasks of their role.
Risks of not taking vacations
Vacations are synonymous with rest and rest, although many may see it as a waste of time, is essential for the proper functioning of the body. It is no coincidence that every night we need to sleep several hours to be able to recover the energy invested during the business day, the same happens with work holidays: if we dare to ignore them, sooner or later our body will start to send signals that something is not right.
Not taking vacations can translate into a list of negative things for personal health, such as chronic headaches and migraines, imbalance in the sleep cycle, general fatigue, weight gain, depressive episodes, and stress. Likewise, it is impossible to maintain a sustainable productivity rate with workers who do not have their vacations planned in the medium term.
Vacation policies in your company
Each company has its internal policies regarding vacations for its workers, which are not above the relevant national legislation. Labor holidays in Colombia, for example, are stipulated in 15 paid days a year from the first year of work, but each Latin American country has its current legislation, which is important to know in order to ensure compliance.
On the other hand, it is important to emphasize that a worker’s vacation period must be respected from beginning to end as one more of the occupational health and safety policies. This means that calls or requests for attendance and attention should be avoided while your rest period is taking place, in order to facilitate the disconnection you need to focus on enjoying your free time.
Promote rest in your team
It is essential that the vacation period to which each worker is entitled is respected and enforced. From the Human Resources department, all team members should be encouraged to request their vacation period sufficiently in advance, so that they can not only take the days without obstruction, but that their absence does not affect the performance of the rest of the team. , which should be able to work while one of its members rests.
