Vacations are a necessity - not a luxury

Vacations are so important for each and every employee and manager. They allow us to take time to do things with the family, get caught up on jobs around the house and visit special places.

Some people think that vacations are a luxury or a perk of being employed, but I do not agree with that way of thinking. In fact, I would say one of the worst policies I have seen is when a firm offers to buy back unused leave from their employees. It sounds generous, but it discourages staff from taking time off, which in the end, is detrimental to both the employees and the company.

Vacations are not a perk of being employed nor should they be thought of by businesses as optional or an unnecessary expense. Rather, they should be thought of as mandatory for so many reasons. Vacations are essential to a happy, healthy and efficient workforce.

Vacations allow employee to get away from the job and free their minds to focus on other things. Stepping away means they can come back refreshed and motivated with a whole different perspective on things.

I have seen this happen again and again. A staff member returns from vacation to see their work and the company in a much different way. Having this change of outlook allows them to work more effectively and contribute even more to the success of the organization.

It is important to note, I am not talking about working vacations where staff combine both work and vacation. Each employee really needs to step away from the job each year. On my vacations, I try not to think about work and I know when a vacation is successful when I do not know what day of the week it is. I try to not follow any thoughts about work that come up and just concentrate on enjoying the moment. This method has always made me feel more motivated, more creative and ready to take on the work when I returned.

Truth is, no matter how great a company is or how much a person likes their job, workers and managers often get burned out. Vacations revive, re-energize and restore people’s drive.

Above and beyond their restorative qualities, vacations are also useful for ensuring nothing is being hidden. On several occasions, I have seen bookkeepers refuse to take vacations only to find out they were stealing from the company. They could not chance being away from the office for fear that someone else would look at the books and discover their deception.

Another reason for requiring vacation is to ensure there is adequate cross training. If an employee insists no one is capable of filling in for them while they are out, it just means they or their bosses have not done enough to ensure the business can sustain operations in the absence – planned or unplanned – of any employee. This is so critical for every organization.

Bottom line is you need to ensure that each and every member of your staff takes the required time off. I promise your organization will benefit from this.

You can do this!

Jerry Osteryoung is a consultant to businesses - he has directly assisted over 3,000 firms. He is the Jim Moran Professor of Entrepreneurship (Emeritus) and Professor of Finance (Emeritus) at Florida State University. He was the founding Executive Director of The Jim Moran Institute and served in that position from 1995 through 2008. His newest book co-authored with Tim O'Brien, "If You Have Employees, You Really Need This Book," is an Amazon.com bestseller. He can be reached by e-mail at jerry.osteryoung@gmail.com.

Tags: Florida Small Business