The Importance of Vacation for Employees

When was the last time you took a vacation? What about your employees? Although employees say vacation time is important, many of them don’t use it. More than half of Americans leave vacation time on the table, accumulating to 768 million days in 2018—a 9 percent uptick from 2017 research.^[1] Personal and professional responsibilities can wear on employees when they don’t take time off, leading to stress and productivity problems. Vacations have benefits beyond preventing these problems.

Taking vacation time benefits employers and employees

Vacation can be as important to wellness as eating healthy, exercising, and getting enough sleep. It provides an occasion to look forward to and an opportunity for people to break up their routines and have “me” time. Vacations are often a good time to revisit health habits, consider long-term improvements, spend quality time with family, and practice self-care—all of which can reduce stress.^[2]

Our state of mind affects both our personal and professional life. Research shows that happier people are more likely to enjoy robust health, fulfilling marriages and relationships, high incomes, and superior work performance.^[3]

1. Supports better mental health 

At face value, vacation benefits can seem like a line item, but if you view them as a form of self-care, you will see their potential to support positive mental health.

Using vacation benefits give employees time to clear their mind and unwind—which experts recommend to help people better cope with and reduce their stress levels.^[4] Stress management is critical to building resilience, a key component of positive physical and mental health.^[5] Because mental and physical health are interconnected, employees who have good health on both fronts may be less likely to have unscheduled absences resulting from stress and mental fatigue.

2. Improves employee retention and morale

Vacation benefits can help you retain the employees you have and attract new ones. Further, encouraging employees to take time away from work shows that you care about them and appreciate the work they do. That sentiment can support workplace morale. It also gives employees flexibility to take time away for cultural holidays, which can support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. DEI is a strategy that businesses of all sizes and across industries can use to fuel growth in today’s increasingly competitive marketplace.

3. Can increase productivity

Vacations can help reduce stress, which can have downstream benefits tied to productivity. Stress reduction is critical to employee health because it impacts physical and mental well-being^[6]. Poor mental health and stress among employees can be detrimental to organizations. These factors can negatively affect employees’ job performance, productivity, and how they engage with their co-workers^[7]. Vacations allow employees to recharge and come back to work ready to be and do their best.  

4. Can decrease burnout

Employees have personal and work responsibilities to manage, and doing so simultaneously can be challenging. This balancing act can lead to burnout, which is a term we hear a lot about but may not consider its definition. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health defines burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” that involves serious, chronic exhaustion and strong, persistent negative attitude—elements that can impair employees’ ability to successfully perform their job duties^[8]. Providing vacation benefits for employees gives them regular time to rest and reduce their risk of burnout. As caretakers of your company, employees must be well enough to perform at their highest level and best serve the organization.

5. Can support positive company culture

Being supportive of vacations can do wonders for your company culture. When you encourage employees to take time off, you help remove fears they may have about being away from work. You also demonstrate that your company values employees as individuals, not just as workers and what they do for the company.

Not taking vacations affects employee well-being and your bottom line

There is a misconception that vacations are costly for companies. To the contrary, it’s costly for companies when employees don’t take vacations. When employees don’t take time away from work to destress, they can put their mental and physical health at risk.

Poor mental and physical health can have costly outcomes: The indirect costs of absenteeism, disability, or reduced work output may be several times higher than direct medical costs.^[9] Each year, employers across the U.S. incur $225.8 billion in costs due to health-related productivity losses.^[10] These costs underscore why vacation is important for employees and employers.

Encourage your employees to take vacations

When employees leave vacation time on the table, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have unsupportive managers. A lack of communication may be the cause. According to Project: Time Off’s “Overwhelmed America Study,” 67 percent of employees said they heard nothing, mixed messages, or negative messages about taking vacation time.^[11]

Make sure your company leaders know what employees’ vacation benefits are and the policies around them so that information can regularly be shared with workers. This communication will reassure employees that taking vacation time is a good thing and something they should have no qualms about doing.

Do your best to put their minds at ease if they’re worried about coming back to an overwhelming workload. And, if possible, let them know that you’ll work with them to reschedule or redistribute their work. Your team will feel stronger when they know that they can count on one another and leave their work behind worry-free.

It’s important for everyone at every level to recharge, refocus, and feel comfortable doing so. Don’t let yourself or your leadership team forget about their vacation time. If employees see that everyone takes time off, they may be more likely to follow suit.

UPMC Health Plan is the ticket to worry-free vacationing

Now that your employees know the benefits of taking a vacation, they can rest assured that UPMC Health Plan ensures members and their covered dependents always have access to high-quality care. UPMC Health Plan members can access urgent or emergency care while traveling thanks to our extended national network. Other options include:

• UPMC MyHealth 24/7 Nurse Line: Members can talk to a registered nurse who will tell them how to treat their condition at home or advise them to seek care.*
• Virtual visits: UPMC AnywhereCare allows members and their covered dependents, including children,† to access high-quality care using their computer or mobile device—24/7. It’s an easy way for members to have a virtual visit with a provider for nonemergency conditions, including colds, allergies, rashes, and pink eye.**
• Global emergency travel assistance: UPMC Health Plan members can travel anywhere in the world with the peace of mind that comes from having access to Assist America. This service can connect them to doctors, hospitals, and other emergency services—free of charge.***

*UPMC nurses who answer calls are licensed to assist members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, New York, and Ohio. Members must be located in one of those states when calling the UPMC MyHealth 24/7 Nurse Line. The UPMC MyHealth 24/7 Nurse Line is not a substitute for medical care. If an emergency arises, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. Nurses cannot answer plan or benefit questions. Please call the Member Services phone number on the back of your member ID card for nonclinical inquiries.

†UPMC Children’s AnywhereCare is available only to patients who are in Pennsylvania. In order for a child to have a UPMC Children’s AnywhereCare visit, the child’s parent or legal guardian must be with the child during the video portion of the visit, and the child and parent or legal guardian must be in Pennsylvania during the visit. UPMC Health Plan members located in Pennsylvania at the time of virtual visit may select a UPMC-employed provider or a provider from Online Care Network II P.C. (OCN), subject to availability and discretion of the provider. Members located outside of Pennsylvania will receive service from OCN. OCN is not an affiliate of UPMC. Limitations may apply for members of ASO plans that have opted out of coverage.

**UPMC Health Plan members located in Pennsylvania at the time of virtual visit may select a UPMC-employed provider or a provider from Online Care Network II P.C. (OCN), subject to availability and discretion of the provider. Members located outside of Pennsylvania will receive service from OCN. OCN is not an affiliate of UPMC. Limitations may apply for members of ASO plans that have opted out of coverage.

***Assist America is not travel or medical insurance, and its services do not replace health coverage while you are away from home. All services must be arranged and provided by Assist America. Bills for any medical costs you incur should be submitted to UPMC Health Plan. They will be subject to the policy limits of your health coverage

Sources

[1] U.S. Travel Association. Study: A record 768 million U.S. vacation days went unused in ‘18, opportunity cost in the billions. Aug. 16, 2019. Accessed March 26. 2024. ustravel.org/press/study-record-768-million-us-vacation-days-went-unused-18-opportunity-cost-billions

[2]Project: Time Off. (2018). State of the American vacation 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2019, from U.S. Travel Association website:http://www.ustravel.org/research/state-american-vacation-2018

[3] University at Buffalo School of Social Work. Introduction to self-care. Retrieved March 28, 2019, from University at Buffalo website: https://socialwork.buffalo.edu/resources/self-care-starter-kit/introduction-to-self-care.html#title_6

[4] Coping with stress. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed April 25, 2023. Accessed March 26, 2024. cdc.gov/mentalhealth/cope-with-stress/index.html

[5] Srivastava K. Positive mental health and its relationship with resilience. Ind Psychiatry J. 2011 Jul;20(2):75-6. doi: 10.4103/0972-6748.102469. PMID: 23271858; PMCID: PMC3530291.

[6] Ibid. 

[7] Mental health in the workplace. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed April 10, 2019. Accessed March 26, 2024. cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/tools-resources/workplace-health/mental-health/index.html

[8] Module 2 Outline: What burnout is and is not. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Reviewed March 8, 2023. Accessed March 27, 2024.cdc.gov/niosh/learning/publichealthburnoutprevention/module-2/outline.htm

[9] Worker productivity measures. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. reviewed April 1, 2016. Accessed March 27, 2024. cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/model/evaluation/productivity.html

[10] Ibid.

[11] Project: Time Off. The mind of a manager: What your boss really thinks about vacation. Retrieved March 28, 2019, from U.S. Travel Association website:www.ustravel.org/research/mind-manager-what-your-boss-really-thinks-about-vacation