Study Shows Taking Vacations Can Boost Productivity

A recent study conducted by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) measured the effect of vacation time on an employee’s productivity.

The study found that employees who took vacations showed higher levels of productivity, increased morale, and improved job satisfaction.

“In addition to the standard HR benefit package at U.S. Travel, I believe in rewarding my employees with additional time off,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “Time away from work allows my team to recharge and return to the office more motivated, creative and innovative.”

SHRM is the world’s largest association for HR management. For this study, SHRM randomly selected 481 of their 250,000 members of HR professionals to participate. While these participants were all U.S. based, SHRM’s members come from over 140 countries worldwide. The study took place from August 22nd – September 25th, 2013.

Still, Americans are not utilizing their paid time off. This “Vacation’s Impact on the Workplace” survey had shown that the average employee does not use all of his or her vacation time. In fact, 61 percent of American employees have three or more vacations days left over at year’s end.

Utilizing vacation time can offer advantages for both employee and employer. If productivity increases once the employee returns from a vacation, the vacation is also a perk for the employer. The entire organization can benefit from more productive employees and a happier workplace.

Seventy percent of organizations polled have policies that prohibit employees from rolling over unused vacation days. This “use it or lose it” policy is meant to motivate employees to use their vacation days within the calendar year. Companies feel that this helps to retain employees, as they will be happier in their roles.

President and CEO of ARDA, Howard Nusbaum said, “The timeshare industry has been advocating for regular vacations through our members and our consumer website, www.VacationBetter.org. Timeshare owners are more likely to take their vacation since it’s pre-paid, which is one huge benefit to owning a timeshare.”

Perhaps timeshare ownership is the secret to making the most of your vacation days. After all, if you have a vacation already paid in full, you are more likely to use it. For those owners with fixed week timeshares, you’ll even be able to request your vacation a year in advance.

Additional Vacation Benefits

• Increased Productivity: 77 percent of supervisors consider their employees who take vacation time more productive than those who do not.
• Increase Happiness: Results show that employees who used all of their vacation time also show increased satisfaction in their roles.
• Better Overall Morale: When the vacation time is used across the organization, employees with enjoy a better workplace atmosphere. In fact, nine out of ten participants felt that utilizing vacation time across the organization led to a happier workplace.

Still, time is left unused. Results show that six out of ten organizations stated that employees had at least three unused vacations days every year.

For more information regarding this study and the advantages to using vacation time, please visit ARDA’s websites: The Travel Effect and Vacation Better.