How Important is Vacation?
You’re busy, people depend on you, you’re always stressed. So that means we should skip your vacation and work even harder, right? Actually, it means that taking a vacation is more important than ever. “A good vacation grants us what we desperately seek in our work — energizing experiences that fulfil our basic, human psychological needs,” writes psychologist Ron Friedman in the Harvard Business Review. Moreover, working for an extended period without rest can lead to worsening mental health, mood swings, decreasing job satisfaction and negative thinking.
So, just how important is a vacation?
Vacations Improve Job Performance
Depending on your office culture, you may feel guilty about taking a break. You may want to prove to your boss that you’re not a slacker; you deserve that promotion. However, regular vacations actually improve the quality of your work.
Numerous studies show that overwork impedes your productivity and can lead to increased mistakes, illness and accidents. “Athletes were the first to recognize that recovery is an essential part of peak performance,” writes Thrive Global Founder & CEO, Arianna Huffington. Similarly, your performance at your job is more likely to improve when you take annual leave to rest and recover.
Vacations Prevent Burnout
Cell phones have eroded the demarcations between ‘home’ and ‘work’, making burnout more prevalent. Maybe you also work in a demanding environment, with frequent late hours. Maybe your commute is so long that you go to bed tired and wake up tired. One of the key symptoms of burnout is exhaustion and vacation allows you to address physical exhaustion by catching up on sleep. However, it also allows you to recover from mental exhaustion – a constant barrage of emails, meetings and deadlines takes a toll – and vacation gives you the ability to unplug.
Vacations Improve Relationships
Sure, you live with your family but… are you really spending quality time together? If you’re constantly checking your phone to see if that important email came in, are you really present? Vacations allow you to take a break from the pressures of your job and spend more quality time with your loved ones. Maybe you can visit a new country. Or maybe you can plan a staycation with fun activities right here at home.
Vacations Make You Healthier
Vacationing can reduce your risk of heart attack, coronary death, type 2 diabetes and strokes. This remains true even if you staycation instead of taking an exotic trip. And vacations also improve your mental health. Time spent away from your job can leave you feeling calmer, while also lowering stress levels and increasing creativity.
Final Thoughts
Yes your job is important, but your wellbeing should always be a priority. Your health – both physical and mental – is one of the moist valuable things you have and unhealthy practices like overworking can have long-term negative consequences. If you haven’t yet booked any vacation for the year, why not have a conversation with your partner or family about a good time to take some leave? And then do it! Schedule that time off. You’ll be making an investment in health, productivity, relationships and overall happiness.
