Everyone loves going on vacation right? Well according to this article, taking vacation can be a source of stress and worry for many employees. The article cites surveys done in both Canada and the U.S. that show that the number of people reporting that they have been made to feel guilty about taking vacation or that feel that they must pay a sort of “vacation tax” in the form of extra work before and after vacation is on the rise.
“Vacation shaming” can take a number of forms including:
1. Being told that the company is too busy for you to take vacation
2. Being made to feel you can’t take longer vacations and rather should take shorter spans of days off
3. Being told no one will be able to fill in for you.
These things can be told directly to employees, they can be implied by the way management behaves (tone at the top) or they can be felt by the employee themselves.
It is up to organizations to try and help mitigate the risk of employees feeling this way. Organizations can do this by making vacations mandatory, management leading by example and ensuring that positions are cross trained so that someone can take over when an employee goes on vacation.
Taking vacations is beneficial to both the employee and the company. Taking vacation can help employees avoid burnout, can increase productivity, efficiency and creativity and is good for an employees mental and physical health.
Consider sharing these links with your employees as well. See https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/canada/2019-05-17-family-vacation-planning-tips
For some helpful vacation planning tips and https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/canada/2018-07-03-tech-detox-why-we-dont-disconnect-from-the-office-on-vacation
For tips on how to disconnect from your job while on vacation.
