Most people take their vacation time and understand the benefits of taking time off work, right?

Wrong.

If you are like the majority of North Americans, you will not use your entire vacation entitlement this year. Why not? Is it because management frowns on those who take vacations? Not exactly. Although that perception may exist among individual workers, the Huffington Post did a poll of workers who did not use the entirety of their vacation time. They found that 40% of respondents felt that they had too much work to do, and didn’t want to fall behind, while 26% said that they were saving their vacations for emergencies. Perhaps with Ontario’s proposed mandatory 10-days of emergency leave entitlement, more Canadians will be able to start using their vacations for, well, vacationing.

Most Europeans get a minimum of four weeks vacation, and they use them all. They often take the entire allotment at once (virtually unheard of this side of the pond), and they travel, even if it’s within their own borders.

But what about productivity, you ask? It appears that the European Vacation Model may be on to something. Time off has positive benefits for both workers and their employers. Read below for a list of benefits reaped from using vacation time. With benefits like these, employers may start encouraging workers to take their vacations, and may even start providing more time!

Benefits of Taking Vacation Time

Reduced Stress: Vacationing and taking breaks from work reduces the stress felt by workers on the job.

Improved Focus: Stress impacts focus, so stress-relieving vacations can help return focus through a reduction in stress.

Heart Health: Vacations reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and lower blood pressure.

Happiness: Vacations make people happy, and as the saying goes, happy workers are productive workers!

Improved Sleep: Rested workers are more focused and more productive. They have more energy at work. Vacations improve overall sleep quality.

Work-Life Balance Improves: Vacations improve work-life balance, as you give this time to your family or yourself, rather than to your employer. This is perhaps the most important benefit offered by using vacation time.

Increased Productivity: Although it seems counter-intuitive, workers who use their vacation time are more productive and return from vacations more creative and with better ideas.

With all these benefits, employees taking vacation time just makes sense! Now that summer is here, this may be the perfect time for employees to take some vacation time for a number of reasons! Share this with your employees or co-workers and encourage more time off within your workplace!