The Importance of Time Off: Enhancing Employee Wellness and Productivity

The Importance of Time Off

As we approach the midpoint of the year, June is a good time to assess the first half of the year and look ahead to the final six months. There is a lot of information to digest, and especially in the advertising world, some tweaks to the original plan might be in order. It’s important to move forward but also take time to evaluate if some changes are sensible.

Enhancing Employee Wellness

It is also important, however, to remember that employees need time to take care of their emotional health, too. June is Employee Wellness Month, and it’s an opportunity for employers and organizations to enhance existing wellness programs and encourage their employees to take proactive steps for improved physical, mental, and emotional well-being in the workplace.

The Benefits of Caring for Employee Well-Being

How important is it? According to Gallup, employers that care about the health and well-being of their employees see measurable benefits, such as higher productivity, profitability, and lower turnover. The pollster’s report says employees who strongly agree that their employer cares about their overall well-being, compared with other employees, are:

Gallup also reports that when employee engagement and well-being are combined, they create a high-performance employee environment in which the two inform and build on one another.

Recognizing and Combating Burnout

It’s also critical to recognize that burnout is an issue in many work environments. According to an article in Forbes, 79 percent of employees experienced work-related stress in a month before the survey. Another study found that poor work-life balance and burnout were among the top reasons people left their jobs.

The Necessity of Vacation Time

Employees must take vacation time. The Forbes article says vacation makes workers more productive, lowers stress, and improves mental health. It also reduces the risk of heart and other diseases. Yet, in 2018, workers in the U.S. accumulated 768 million unused vacation days.

An article published last year said the beneficial effects of vacations include reducing emotional exhaustion and burnout, decreasing absenteeism, increased work engagement, and improved health, well-being, life satisfaction, and quality of life.

Prioritize Mental Health

While work is important, it’s also important that all workers take time to step away, disconnect from the computer world, and go about the business of re-centering their lives. Any time is good to take care of one’s mental health, but as we swing into the second half of the year, it’s a good idea to ensure steps are in place to do so.