My friend Tony traveled overseas a few years ago. When he got back, all he could talk about was how much vacation people took there.
He said in some countries, out of the 52 weeks in a year, they work maybe 40 weeks. And during the summers, they’ll take a month or more off. And their workweeks, well they’re usually 30 to 35 hours/week.
Tony got all existential, “Why am I working so much? I take maybe one week off a year. Sure, I might make more money, but what am I sacrificing? I have no time to do the things I want to do, or be with the people I want to be with … I’m always busy, busy busy … and I think I need to … ”
As his rant trailed off, I got to thinking, “Yeah, there must be some studies out there showing how important it is to take a vacation.”
So later that night when I got home I did a little research on the benefits of taking a vacation from work. What I found was that people who take vacations are:
- Less stressed: It’s obvious. If we get away from our stress-inducing workplaces, our stress level decreases. The research says that even little bitty three-day vacations can make a big difference in lowering our stress levels.
- More productive at work: You’d think that by working less you’d be less productive. Wrong. You’re actually more productive after you get some time away to refresh and recharge. How much more productive? 80% more productive says NASA.
- More creative: Whether you work in an office building, warehouse, or outside, your workplace can be a bit of a creativity killer. We all need a fresh perspective, a new environment, an inspiring view to get the creativity going again.
- Physically healthier: There are so many studies that back up the physical benefits of vacation. One study in particular showed that people who took a vacation every year were much less likely to DIE from heart attacks or other heart problems compared to those who didn’t take as many vacations. Vacations literally SAVE LIVES.
- Make more money: People who take vacation have a 6.5% better chance of getting a raise or promotion than those who neglect to use 11+ hours of time off a year.
“Alright,,” I said. “You’re right Tony. You and I need to take a few more vacations. It makes us less stressed, more productive, more creative, healthier … and there’s a better chance that we’ll actually make more money!”
“The goal isn’t to make more money,” he said. “It’s to spend more time with the people we love.”
“Oh … yeah,” I said.
