Home
News
Archives
Classifieds
Events / Conferences
Directories
Subscribe
Resources
FAQs
Contact Us
Advertise In Monitor
Advertising Links

Browse by Topics

A Conversation With
Administration
Alternative Investment
Consultants
Global Custody
Money Managers
Benefits
Compensation
DB Pensions
DC Pensions
Disability Management
EAFE & Emerging Markets
Executive Compensation
Group Insurance
Healthcare
Investment
Legal
Miscellaneous
Pensions
Retirement Planning
Risk Management
Socially Responsible Investment
Technology

Benefits and Pensions Monitor

Vacations Revive Business And Personal Health

By: Caroline Tapp-McDougall

The new buzz on the street is that vacations may not only be good for the personal well-being of employees, they’re good for business as well. It probably comes as no surprise these days that many of us feel we’re just too busy to go on holidays and, more often than not, don’t take our full holiday entitlement. “I leave the office for a few days and I don’t feel like I’ve been away at all. I return to the reams of paperwork, e-mail, and voice mail. There’s nobody to fill in for me while I’m away, so the work piles up. It’s almost better not to go,” is a common lament.

Research also shows without holidays, presenteeism, the syndrome where someone is at work but pre-occupied, often occurs.

Bill Wilkerson, former CEO of Liberty Health and co-founder and CEO of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, says time off, whether two weeks or five weeks, is less important than taking a mental break while you are physically away from the office. “People tend to be under deadlines as a constant in life,” he says. “We don’t have clock-watchers – we have people for whom time has lost its definition. It bleeds through home and work.”

Our Vacation Report
Card Of the world’s major economies, only China comes in lower than Canada in vacation stinginess. And if you work in Ontario or Prince Edward Island, the legislated minimum vacation time is a mere 10 days, no matter how many decades you’ve toiled. Compare that to what’s earned by the people of Denmark where the legally required annual leave for employees with 10 years of service is 30 days. The Danes also have 10 public holidays off with pay.

Why Stay At Work?
Today’s workplaces are becoming a more competitive and stressful environment. In fact, employees are so swamped with work that one of the reasons for skipping vacations is that they are too busy. Employees also fear pressure from their boss with nine per cent of respondents to a Monster online survey saying they feared being laid off if they used all of their vacation time. Thankfully, some workers still value their time off, according to a 2004 salary.com poll where 39 per cent of employees said they’d choose more time off over a $5,000 raise!

Time Off = Increased Productivity
The Ipsos-Reid Annual Vacation Deprivation Survey (AVDS) shows proof-positive results of everyone’s need for a re-charge and time away from the office and 24/7 connectivity. Of the employees it surveyed, 54 per cent agreed that they “Return from vacation feeling better about my job and feeling more productive.” The survey of 1,274 people was conducted for travel agency Expedia.ca.

What’s Better For Business
The AVDS in ’05 showed that a quarter of employed adults forfeit some of their valuable vacation time and 15 per cent take a ‘working vacation,’ blending time off and work by staying connected and responding to voice and eMail during their holidays. Compare that to Italy or France, where they take more than 35 vacation days, and it seems like we are workaholics.

Arthur Donner, a Toronto-based economist who has been a supporter of having more vacation time for years, has some answers. “The limited vacation effect is built into the system,” suggests Donner, claiming that employers in Canada have an incentive to push employees to work as many hours as possible. The fixed costs shouldered by an employer for one full-time regular employee range from five per cent to 30 per cent of the pay packet, thanks to annual income caps on employment insurance and Canada Pension Plan premiums. These fixed costs are the same regardless of how many hours an employee logs. Therefore, some believe that employers want to amortize the fixed costs by getting as many hours out of workers as possible, perpetuating a culture that encourages long hours and guilt surrounding time off.

Encouraging Healthy Vacationing
Some suggestions for those in a position to make a difference include:

• Managers should ask for a list of phone numbers where the employee can be reached, just in case. Although good managers will rarely resort to using these numbers, knowing they have them will keep the employee from constantly checking to make sure everything is okay.
• Managers should instruct their employees not to call into the office while on vacation so that they relax and really take a break.
• Stop measuring productivity in hours, measure by results.
• Managers should build in time on business trips to regroup and refresh.

Caroline Tapp-McDougall is the publisher of Solutions: Canada’s Family Guide to Home Health Care and Wellness and the author of The Complete Canadian Eldercare Guide.

Home / News Alerts / Archives / Classifieds / Events / Directories / Resources / Subscribe / Login / Contact Us
Advertise In Monitor / Advertising Links / FAQs / People / Privacy Policy / Terms of Service / Sitemap

Copyright ©1999 - 2008 Benefits and Pensions Monitor. All rights reserved.
Pension Fund Investment - Employee Benefits Management