94% of vacations produce positive results in terms of energy and outlook when returning to work, according to an article published in the Harvard Business Review. But, it’s not just employees that benefit from vacation time, employers benefit too. Increasing employee vacation time this summer might just be the best thing you can do.
Why offer/promote more vacation time?
1. Vacation catapults performance and reduces healthcare costs
Compared to average-performing employees, high-performing employees take 5 more days off, at least according to a survey of more than 125,000 employees.1
Employers should take heed of their top performers’ “wisdom” and encourage more employees to take breaks away from work as time away has long been associated with several positive benefits.
For example, vacation time is linked to health. Research demonstrates that men are 32% more likely to have a heart attack when they don’t take regular vacation and women are 50% more likely to have a have a heart attack without regular vacations.2
For employers, more vacation time translates to healthier, more productive employees, and a smaller healthcare bill.
2. More vacation time gives employers an advantage during recruitment
According to Project: Time Off, a coalition to transform American attitudes about time off, paid time off is important to 95% of people. So, it’s not surprising that paid time off grabs the number two slot in a list of top employee benefits.3
The takeaway message for employers is to offer time off and encourage employees to take vacation, because, as multiple case studies point out, time off is a benefit that attracts and retains top talent.
For example, the company MammothHR, an organization that specializes in helping businesses recruit, onboard, and retain employees, piloted unlimited PTO for one year. During that year, they surveyed their employees to gauge how they felt about the new benefit. Their results4:
● Employees ranked unlimited PTO as the 3rd best benefit the company offered, behind health insurance and retirement planning
● Unlimited PTO was more valuable than vision and dental insurance
● Employees preferred unlimited PTO to professional development assistance
If employers want to attract top performers, offering more time off is a great way to capture attention. But, it’s also a terrific way to retain them.
According to research conducted by Project: Time Off, 40% of those employed by companies that don’t support unplugging from the office occasionally are looking or plan to look for a new job while only 20% of those employed at companies that support breaks are looking for a new job.
Fortunately, you don’t have to offer unlimited paid time off to make waves. Simply offering more vacation time will still attract the kind of workers you’re looking for, just be sure to have other attractive benefits in place. The Ready for Life HSA is one such benefit. (Learn more about HSA solutions, including the Ready for Life HSA and Clarity’s HSA admin service today).
How should businesses promote more vacation time this summer?
The summer is a great time to promote more vacation time. The weather is warm which means people are more inclined to be active and everyone wants to soak up the sunshine while it lasts.
Here are a few tips to promote more vacation time this summer:
● Encourage managers to actively assist employees with vacation planning:
Make sure managers know it’s not enough to just tell employees to take vacation. They need to help them take it. Usually helping employees take vacation is as simple as rescheduling deadlines or planning for others to cover certain tasks while an employee is away.
● Remind employees that vacation days are theirs to take
Make sure employees know that the company is supportive of workers using their vacation time. If you have a use it or lose it policy, remind them that you expect vacation days to be used. You may also want to remind workers that vacation days are built into their contract and are budgeted into their salary, so they should take those days off. If there’s a use it or lose it policy and they don’t take vacation, they’re basically throwing their hard-earned money out the window.
● Reassure employees that taking time away benefits the entire team
A team is only as strong as its weakest link. A stressed employee that’s been pushed to the max without a break is more of a liability than an asset. Let employees know that you expect each of them to take vacation time so that the team is always in a strong position to tackle its work.
Offering Great Benefits is Easier with a Helpful Partner
Summer is just a few short weeks away, and now is the time to start encouraging employees to take time off to recharge. While you’re at it, be sure to remind them about the other great benefits you offer. We can make promoting benefits easier, so don’t be shy if you need a hand. Time away in the sun is a golden opportunity for employees to take pause and can come back healthier and more productive than ever.
Sources:
1. https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/news/vacation-time-can-boost-employee-performance?feed=00000152-175b-d933-a573-ff5fe21d0000
2. https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/how-more-vacation-time-can-increase-productivity-1/
3. https://www.forbes.com/pictures/gkig45fhe/the-top-10-employee-perk/#1c83c0a94fc6
4. https://www.fastcompany.com/3052926/we-offered-unlimited-vacation-for-one-year-heres-what-we-learned
