Consider This Your Mid-Summer Reminder to Take a Vacation
It's July 23...have you planned your summer vacation yet?
If you answered "no," then you are probably not alone. A new survey from Censuswide on behalf of LinkedIn found that more than half of US working adults don't use all of their vacation days: 51% of those surveyed didn't hit the maximum days last year.
Even more sickening? When people do vacation, 70% say that they have a hard time disconnecting from work, mostly because they're worried about getting behind. (In fact, another study this year found that Americans check their phones a cringe-worthy average of 80 times per day while on vacation).
Working full-time without vacation can actually have negative effects on one's productivity. According to LinkedIn, "when people don't take vacation, they feel overwhelmed (58% said in the survey), disorganized (21%) – and only 3% feel creative at work."
So consider this your mid-summer reminder to book that vacation -- even if it is just a long weekend getaway. To combat the stress that comes from being away from the office, LinkedIn provided a few ways to help vacation time go a little bit smoother for everyone.
Preparation is key when you're taking that precious out of office time. Coordinate with your manager to find the right time to take off and settle responsibilities, delegate work where necessary and work with your out of office diversion contact.
Another worrisome statistic from the survey: More than two-thirds of people would contact a fellow employee about work while the person is on vacation. That is an out of office foul, unless it is truly an emergency. Don't contact co-workers when they are on vacation -- they will be able to unplug, and when you take your out of office time, you can reasonably expect not to be bothered, too.
If you have to reach out to someone while they're on vacation, LinkedIn provided two suggestions: (1) Don't email them so that they don't get overwhelmed in their inbox and (2) wait until the end of the day so that you can compile what you send.
For its study, Censuswide surveyed 2,169 US adults aged 18+ who are either in permanent full-time employment or full-time self employed/freelance.
H/T: LinkedIn