Are You Giving Your Employees Enough Time to Recharge?
Discover how employers can prevent employee burnout by allowing true disconnection and recharge.
In an era of constant connectivity, American workers struggle to disconnect from work. Edward J. Beltran, CEO of Pulse by Fierce, explores how employers can combat burnout and promote well-being.
More and more workers are finding it difficult to disconnect and take time off from work truly. At a time when the workforce is already feeling unprecedented burnout, solutions are needed now!
Remember that feeling as a kid about to venture out on the long-awaited family vacation? The excitement was enough to lose sleep and drive a chorus of “Are we there yet?” from the car’s back seat!
Breaking out of the daily summer routine was something to look forward to, and those wonderful memories have stuck around decades later! This is how many of us first learned the real value of getting away and spending uninterrupted time with our families. Learning and seeing new things was exhilarating, and the memories were priceless.
As we grow and mature, that anticipation for vacation evolves into a must-do task for relieving ourselves of the hourly burdens of work and home life.
Always On, Rarely Off
Work vacations should be all about disconnecting, escaping the things and people that cause us frustration and aggravation, on top of the stress we already feel just guiding our families through life. In a few decades, the world has drastically changed, complicating work life profoundly. Back then, the workplace was much more linear than it is now. Today, we’re getting “hit” from so many different directions that escaping, even for a few days, can seem more like trying to outrun the world’s fastest sprinters, sometimes all of them at once!
Increased connectivity, from social media to remote work, cell phones, and instant messaging ability, had already blurred the lines between work and home; then came the pandemic, making those lines nearly invisible. Uncertain boundaries, ever-growing workloads, higher and higher expectations, non-stop global business operations, and more are making time off to recharge next to impossible.
It’s no wonder so many find it impossible to disconnect from their jobs truly. In a recent survey, 91% of U.S. workers said their workloads have prevented them from taking time off. Equally alarming, another study found that nearly half of U.S. workers work at least one hour each day off the clock.
Rest, Relax, Recharge!
In our world of being “always on,” the power of time off reaches far beyond simple leisure. The three “Rs,” rest, relax, and recharge, aren’t just beneficial to employees while they’re away but to companies as they return.
When they can take time off and fully disconnect, it helps reduce work-related stress, even preventing the burnout that’s hit many of the workforce hard in recent years. Putting distance between themselves and their work plays a key role in returning from time off refreshed and energized, which often means they’ll be more productive and engaged. However, as soon as the boss “barges in” during their time off, it can send them right back to how they felt before they went on vacation, maybe even worse.
That one seemingly innocent meeting sounded fine in theory before breaking for vacation and showed you are a client-centric team player who will do whatever it takes. But, that drive instantly turns to dread the night before as you prepare. On top of feeling the regret, the 30 or 60 minutes this steals from employees has an outsized impact, causing even more stress of having to shift priorities while they were supposed to be vacationing with family.
Whether the boss reaches out while they’re off, expects them to work at least a “little” each day, or creates an environment where employees feel they can’t take off in the first place, it’s doing damage. Unsurprisingly, 58% of American workers feel their jobs are the primary source of their mental health challenges.
See More: 4 Ways AI is Improving Work-Life Balance
Companies Hurt Themselves
Work-related stress costs American companies roughly $300B annually, hitting the bottom line hard. Why would we, as leaders, do anything more to add to this?
A company that values work-life balance and respects employee time off will likely retain employees. One that doesn’t is likely to lose them fast. When we say “we believe in a strong work-life balance,” employees notice, and more will want to stay.
It boosts morale and engagement, and guess what? Real-time away can help employees gain new perspectives and insights! Uninterrupted time off can stimulate creativity and improve problem-solving skills, as employees can explore new experiences and ideas outside their normal work routine.
Then there’s productivity. The notion that constant work leads to higher productivity is highly problematic. We know that employee burnout and exhaustion is the most serious threat to productivity, a reality that has become increasingly clear in recent years. The harder they work, the fewer breaks they have, and the less opportunity they get to disconnect; the hit on their well-being and, ultimately, on productivity gets bigger and bigger. The more burned out the staff is, the more efficiency can decrease, and we know that not taking time off just worsens this situation for employees.
Respecting employees’ time off isn’t merely an act of kindness; it’s essential to a healthy, productive, and successful work culture.
Do More, Lose Less
Almost half of U.S. workers, 46%, find it difficult to “switch off” on vacation, while 68% admit to working while on vacation, a strong indicator that leadership bears responsibility to do more. This demands thoughtful reflection and self-assessment; it’s critical management first understands where their actions and policies (or lack thereof) fall within this situation.
We can begin to make progress by ensuring our employees aren’t expected to do any work while they’re away. Play defense for them and ensure they’re not contacted during their vacation. Provide them the flexibility to use vacation time when they want, on their terms, and avoid working around others’ schedules. Encourage them to use their time and even offer more paid time off! Respect boundaries and set clear work and non-work hours expectations, policies, and procedures. Put into writing the company’s commitment to ensuring employees can truly disconnect and recharge.
Always remember that receiving a hair-on-fire email while having dinner with their family can be very unsettling and impair an employee’s ability to relax truly.
Manage Stress with Technology
The employer is accountable for training their people to have conversations and set agreed-upon rules of engagement. They also are responsible for bringing the very best solutions to the table.
Today, technology offers a unique opportunity to help employees navigate the twists and turns causing deep mental health struggles. While things like workplace EAPs, coaching, and other forms of support are important, they struggle to make an impact on their own.
Wearable technology has been proven, supported even in a recent study by Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine, as an effective way of monitoring well-being. We, too, are seeing great results with our technology that does this, reducing stress up to 40%! Wearables, like Fitbit and Apple Watch, have been tracking physical health for years. Those indicators, like heart rate variability, are connected to stress and, syncing with GPS and calendar data, can help employees narrow stressors to a place and time. So, if their stress spiked on vacation, the moment the boss pulled them in for a “quick” meeting, we can see that this was the cause of their increased stress.
This provides unparalleled self-awareness that is the future of managing all issues, like true time off, that weigh on the workforce. We must do more for our people before it’s too late!
What strategies have you followed to promote work-life balance and prevent burnout? Let us know on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
Image Source: Shutterstock
