The average worker in the United States puts in
over 38 hours a week - and many say that they don’t use all their annual leave. Working too many hours puts a strain on both our physical and mental health so, in this article, we’re sharing eight important reasons for taking a break from work.
Stress - What’s The Damage?
Stress is something that we all experience to some extent, at work or at home. And although stress is (of course) a part of life, when it becomes unmanageable it can lead to problems with physical and mental health.
The simple reason for this is that stress triggers our ‘fight or flight’ mode, and this releases adrenaline into our bodies. Adrenaline is a naturally occurring chemical, but when we are stressed for long periods it interrupts the body’s normal responses, leading to illness.
1. Stress Can Be A Body Blow
Stress can manifest itself in a number of ways which affect our physical health. These can include:
- Sleep deprivation – We usually find it difficult to relax and switch off. This can have a big impact on our sleeping patterns, making us exhausted and irritable. Going further, it can then contribute to medical conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes … and more.
- Addiction – An all-too-common response can be to turn to alcohol, nicotine and even drugs to get some relief. Predictably, when used for prolonged periods, these things can cause heart, lung and liver disease.
- Injury – Don’t also forget that we can be constantly distracted (particularly if we’re not sleeping well). This inevitably increases our risk of injury if we’re not fully focused. An example of this might be failing to check properly before crossing a road as our minds are elsewhere.
2. Technology Can Help With Your Break
A common reason for not taking a break is that communication will be interrupted. But as with many problems, technology provides an answer. For example, eSIM technology will allow you to stay connected seamlessly without the hassle of changing SIM cards or dealing with roaming fees. You can then enjoy your time off without worrying about connectivity issues. Wherever you are in the world, you can
find more details on how eSIM can keep you connected with work while you’re away from the hassle!
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a vacation, staycation or even just staying home. The simple act of removing ourselves from the source (i.e. the workplace) will usually lower our stress. Obviously, this doesn’t mean you have to book an expensive holiday. Spending time at home with the odd walk in the park can give us just as much benefit as a week in the Bahamas. (Without the financial burden…)
3. Getting Your Head In The Game
Pressure on our mental health can be just as dangerous as that on our physical health, and this can include:
- Anxiety - With adrenaline constantly flooding our systems, we’ll naturally feel jumpy, worried and even scared. If this continues, it can lead to an overwhelming feeling of anxiety.
- Depression - Constant stress often leads to a sense of hopelessness. This, in turn, can cause depression - which, in extreme cases can require medical intervention.
- Mental fatigue – Predictably, work related stress will lead to fatigue and we won’t be able to work properly. And when we’re underperforming, we’ll get stressed about that, too.
Put simply, we need to take a break from work for our mental health … in the long and short term. Doing this helps us to, quite literally, pull away from the stress and reset our priorities. This, in turn, reboots our mental health and resets it to more normal levels.
4. Balancing The Books On Work, Relationships And Personal Interests
As we’ve said, taking a break can help our physical and mental health. But there are other benefits too. Our lives seem to be increasingly complex, don’t they? They’re often made up of a number of different sections which can include:
- Work / Career
- Marriage / intimate relationships
- Children
- Interests / hobbies
- Socializing
And if we neglect any one of these, we can get pressure from others … which can actually increase stress. But whatever path we take, we can lose focus on our priorities. Taking regular breaks can help to restore balance; giving you more time for priorities outside of work.
5. Workplace Productivity And Creativity
When we exhaust ourselves with work, we inevitably reduce our appetite for the job, and our ability to come up with new ideas. So stepping aside from the work routine – and maybe even experiencing new environments – can yield multiple benefits:
- Renewed energy levels
- Stimulated innovation
- Improved problem solving skills
- More efficiency and productivity
6. Strengthening Personal Relationships
You probably don’t need to be told that working long hours can create stress, which puts
pressure on your relationships. Spending quality time (not just “routine time”) with your loved ones on a regular basis can yield benefits that are essential for a healthy lifestyle:
- Improve your work life balance
- Set boundaries
- Deepen relationships
- Enhance personal connections and social networks
7. Nailing Employee Wellbeing Like A Boss
If you’re an employer you may have already seen staff absence due to stress. If you want a productive team, you need to extend your responsibilities way beyond just paying their wages.
And supporting them in taking their allocated time off can help you to:
- Improve employee morale
- Increase employee retention
- Reduce absenteeism
- Attract new talent through generous vacation policies
- Enhance employee productivity
- Lower healthcare costs
- Ensure compliance with legal and ethical considerations
- Create a healthy workplace culture
8. Reinventing The Workplace Culture
Once upon a time, working crazy hours was seen as something to be admired. But it’s rarely the case anymore. This is because we now more fully understand the risks to productivity and physical and mental health associated with over-work. This means we need to challenge the "always on" mindset and to instead see time out as a valuable resource.
Although this may seem counter-intuitive, we need to remember that we’re dealing with people, not machines or software packages…
Final Thoughts
Regular vacation time is of vital importance to everyone. Staff should be the biggest asset for any business … and a healthy workforce is focused and productive.
This means that investing in employee wellbeing, of which allowing for vacations is a central part, is the key to setting the stage for long term success.
