Summer Arrives: The Value of Vacations

Did you feel it this morning? That thump at 7:28 am was summer arriving. Though here in the Atlanta area we are now into about our 10th straight day of over 90 degree F with another 7 or so coming. So summer feels like it has been here for awhile. But heat is not the only thing that arrives with summer. This is also the vacation season. I am a big believer in vacations. Having just returned from a two week vacation (in Greece) I personally know the value of the R & R (rest and relaxation) and the ability to renew yourself. I came back recharged. (Well actually I came back and immediately checked a lottery ticket to see if I had won hoping I would be able to go permanently, but no luck.) But I did return to things feeling much less stressed.

According to Elizabeth Scott, M.S., in The Importance of Vacations, for Stress Relief, Productivity and Health there are seven effects that vacations have. These include:

1. Vacations Promote Creativity: A good vacation can help us to reconnect with ourselves, operating as a vehicle for self-discovery and helping us get back to feeling our best.
2. Vacations Stave Off Burnout: Workers who take regular time to relax are less likely to experience burnout, making them more creative and productive than their overworked, under-rested counterparts.
3. Vacations Can Keep Us Healthy: Taking regular time off to ‘recharge your batteries’, thereby keeping stress levels lower, can keep you healthier.
4. Vacations Promote Overall Wellbeing: One study found that three days after vacation, subjects' physical complaints, their quality of sleep and mood had improved as compared to before vacation. These gains were still present five weeks later, especially in those who had more personal time and overall satisfaction during their vacations.
5. Vacations Can Strengthen Bonds: Spending time enjoying life with loved ones can keep relationships strong, helping you enjoy the good times more and helping you through the stress of the hard times. In fact, a study by the Arizona Department of Health and Human Services found that women who took vacations were more satisfied with their marriages.
6. Vacations Can Help With Your Job Performance: As the authors of the above study suggest, the psychological benefits that come with more frequent vacations lead to increased quality of life, and that can lead to increased quality of work on the job.
7. Vacations Relieve Stress in Lasting Ways: It should come as no surprise that vacations that include plenty of free time bring stress relief, but research shows that a good vacation can lead to the experience of fewer stressful days at least five weeks later! That means that vacations are the gift to yourself that keep on giving.

I personally experienced many of the effects of vacation and I am still basking in the memories as I edit the 1641 pictures I took.

I know that many of you cannot afford to take a vacation like I did. (Though mine was frequent flier miles, time share and hotel points.) Some of you are not in a situation to be able to do so. But it is still important to try to get that R & R. Even if you are unemployed getting away from your current day-to-day situation will be helpful. Check out Ms. Scott's article by clicking on the link for some ideas.

It does work, don't I look relaxed in the picture?

Carnival of HR April Edition and Other Stuff Too

In case you missed it the Fistful of Talent blog site posted the April version of the Carnival of HR. Great reading in human resources all in one place.

On April 5th Dan McCarthy will host the Leadership Carnival at his blog Great Leadership. I will have a post in there as well. Good reading on leadership.

On Thursday, April 9th I will have a blog post appear in the Atlanta Journal Constitution Online version in the HR Roundtable column. So check it out on Thursday by clicking here and looking for the recent post on vacations.

In the meantime I will be on vacation. Out of touch, no computer. R&R. Hiking, waterfalls, reading and coffee in the mountains of Western North Carolina. See you in a week or so.

Days Off Are NOT Vacation!

Maybe it is just Monday blahs but I don't feel rested. This was supposed to be a relaxing weekend but I don't feel relaxed. I have had days off this year, beyond just the weekends, but I have spent them moving ( a couple of times) and getting settled in a new house. These were days off, away from work, no mental stress, at least work related. But days off are not the same as a vacation. I need a vacation! And I am sure I am not the only one who feels that way. I am definately in the school that says people need to get away from work and have sufficient time to unwind. I personally need to get away entirely. Go to the beach or the mountains. How about you? I am certain you see employees showing stress from lack of vacation as well.

I like the approach of a company called Bluewolf. They allow their employees to take vacation anytime they want, as long as they are productive and get their work done. Check out this article on Businessweek online. Think this might work for you?

BTW, I realize this is a pretty weak post, I told you, I need a vacation!

(Photo credit: Its mine, took it in Utah.)

Vacations: An End of the Year Thought

I hope most of you took some time off at the end of this year. It has been a good time to refresh, spend time with family and get ready for 2008. Management guru and author Harvey Mackay published a newsletter recently that had some very good words of wisdom in it:

• Take your vacation time. Hoarding earned days? Do you lose them if you don't use them? Maybe you are just building up a cache of time that you will use "when you need to." People seem to be almost unwilling to take breaks when they really need them. Keep in mind that the workplace and world will survive, probably quite well, if you go on vacation. If you think you are indispensable at work, stick your finger in a bowl of water and notice the hole it leaves when you pull it out. Now try to imagine the hole in your family's life without you. It suddenly becomes a clear choice!

I hope you have made the choice to not leave a hole in your family life in preference to your job. As 2008 chugs along think about the "hole in the water."

Catch Up Time

Ok, I have not blogged in a month and a half. Vacation is part of the reason. Overcoming the intertia of not blogging is tough. Restarting something, anything, after a layoff is tough. I am going through that right now with exercise and dieting too... Oh well here are some catch up thoughts.

1. Vacation- We don't take enough of it in this country! We are behind the rest of the world in how much we take. I have come to the conclusion that vacation needs to be taken in a minimum of two weeks, especially if you are going out of the country. We Americans overwork ourselves and it is to our detriment. While on vacation in the Dominican Republic I met a young woman who had to go and check her work email twice a day. I don't think she ever relaxed.
2. Immigration- Whether or not you think the immigration plan the President and Congress is working on is right or not it is going to be a nightmare for Human Resources departments. It will require the following: Use of electronic verification that is currently not designed to handle the 7 million employers that will have to sign up; REVERIFICATION of ALL your current employees, regardless of how long they have worked for you; a follow up system on everyone that gets kicked out of the system (currently about 15% of the verifications that get sent in electronically.) In addition, the fines go up exponentially. YOU HAD BETTER PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ONE. SHRM feels this will have the impact of FMLA. (Oh great!)
3. Minimum Wage- How many of you noticed that the increase in the minimum wage that got snuck into the Iraq War funding bill? It will go into effect 60 days after the President signs the bill. So far I have seen no details, but I am sure they are forthcoming.

Well, that will do for now. I will keep it going now... at least until I go on vacation again and inertia takes over once more.. LOL.