Take your vacation days or shut up!
June 17th, 2010 | by Leanne Chase
Americans aren’t very good at taking time off even when they have plenty of it. Yet it has been proven over and over that time off is good for you, your productivity at work and your family. So this summer I’m issuing a challenge to all of you who say you want to struggle/juggle less. Take your days! Maybe not all of them, or all at once, but how about every other Friday…that’s 5 or 6 days.
Think of how you can balance yourself with just 5 days spread out over 3 months:
- Catch up with friends
- Spend time with family (even travel to see family, hey it’s a long weekend – go for it!)
- Work on projects you’ve been putting off at home
- Hone a skill you’d like to be better at
- Pursue a hobby
- Volunteer
- Search for a new job (especially if you’re getting pressured to not take your vacation days!)
- Do absolutely nothing
And if you are someone who does not take your allotted days, but also complains about your work/life “balance” – sorry I’m no longer listening.
I’ll be taking my own advice so feel free to comment on this blog post but I probably will not see or approve your comment today.
One Comment
It’s a shame that asking for earned vacation time off is getting harder to do for many employees; it seems the fear factor prevails at too many companies. That said, I join you in exhorting people to take their vacation days in some form or another–soon!