How Holidays Impact Employee Productivity and Wellbeing
Researchers from the Netherlands set out to measure the effect that holidays have on overall happiness and how long it lasts. They studied happiness levels among 1,530 Dutch adults, 974 of whom took a holiday during the 32-week study period.
The study, published in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life, showed that the largest boost in happiness comes from the simple act of planning a holiday. In the study, the effect of holiday anticipation boosted happiness and productivity for eight weeks.
Encouraging employees to go on holiday could reduce burnout and, according to a long-running cardiovascular study by Boston University and the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, extend their lives.
The reasons why holidays boost productivity could be both physical and mental. It’s now known that, even when the brain isn’t actively engaged, it’s always busy. It’s often sorting meaning, processing information and recalling things from the day. Taking holidays, or even regular breaks at work, may enable the brain to do more of this – particularly in a world where, thanks to technology, people can be always connected.
Regular breaks appear to be the key to reaping real benefits. A recent study by Dutch researcher Jessica de Bloom showed that, among people taking a holiday of between seven and nine days, their feelings of renewal dissipated within about a week of going back to work.
The benefits of regular days off were tested in a four-year Harvard Business School study led by Professor Leslie Perlow. Working with Boston Consulting Group employees, the researchers looked at what happened when they were given scheduled days off – such as a day a week or a day a fortnight – where they were completely ‘off’ and not connected via phone or email. Five months into the research, the employees reported feeling more satisfied with their jobs, more content with their work-life balance, more likely to see a long-term future at the company, and prouder of their achievements.
One often overlooked benefit of staff taking leave, says David Arkell, GE’s head of HR in Australia and New Zealand, is that other employees may be temporarily handed their role and have an opportunity to take on more responsibility or learn new skills.
“The practical lesson for an individual is that you derive most of your happiness from anticipating the holiday trip,” he said. “What you can do is try to increase that by taking more trips per year. If you have a two week holiday you can split it up and have two one week holidays. You could try to increase the anticipation effect by talking about it more and maybe discussing it online.”
The downsides of Cashing Out Leave
The current push to allow employees to cash out their leave and have fewer days off is ill-advised, says Justine Turnbull, an employment law expert and partner at Seyfarth Shaw.
“I’m philosophically opposed to that. From an HR perspective, I believe workers should take their leave,” she says. “But from a financial perspective, sometimes it would be a better benefit to workers if they could cash out.”
It also depends on whom you go on holidays with, the holiday could also have a detrimental effect if you go on a holiday with someone you are in a not so great relationship with !!
I was the idiot who didn't take holidays, but worked for the company, ended up on the scrap heap.