“ One of the reasons why employees feel reluctant to take vacations is because , based on the survey , six in 10 respondents report a lack of support from their boss on taking personal time-off .”
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“ One of the reasons why employees feel reluctant to take vacations is because , based on the survey , six in 10 respondents report a lack of support from their boss on taking personal time-off .”
h , New Year , it ’ s my favorite holiday of all . Why , you may ask ? It is because New Year is about second chances . It ’ s the chance to put behind past mistakes , missed opportunities or painful disappointments . It allows us to pause , not only to find gratitude in our heart for the blessings the past year has brought us , but more importantly , to recalibrate our views of the future . In doing so , many of us create New Year ’ s resolutions — a list that ’ s notoriously made-to-be-broken but often needed , if only to remind ourselves to find happiness ( read Conversations , page 24 ), eat healthier ( read Mind , Body & Soul : Meeting the Nutritional Needs of Your Spa Guests , page 40 ) or break distractive habits ( read Ask the Expert , page 52 ).
If you have already worked on your resolutions for the year , what ’ s on top of your list ? This year , I resolve to take more self-imposed vacations , especially after coming across research by Project : Time Off , a national movement that aims to shift culture toward the acceptance of taking time-off for personal well-being . Findings from the research show that 55 percent of surveyed respondents left vacation days unused in 2015 . In total , that ’ s an estimated 658 million unused vacations and US $ 61.4 billion of forfeited benefits . Given that personal time-off is a key employee benefit , this seems ridiculous to even imagine !
One of the reasons why employees feel reluctant to take vacations is because , based on the survey , six in 10 respondents report a lack of support from their boss on taking personal time-off . In fact , 80 percent of respondents said they would likely take more vacations had they felt fully supported and encouraged by their boss . Think about this for a minute : How are you communicating the importance of personal time-off to your team ?
Good leaders know that part of putting employee well-being first ( read Creating a Healthy Work Environment : Helping Employees Manage Stress and Avoid Injury , page 36 ) is allowing them to de-stress so they return to work recharged . Yes , for 2017 , I promise to take more vacations so I may come home creatively recharged — but only if you do as well .
— MAE MAÑACAP-JOHNSON , SENIOR EDITOR @ ISPAPULSEEDITOR
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6 PULSE ■ January / February 2017