Now we don’t want to say “we told you so” but we really did. Back in June we posted an article about the importance of vacation and the shocking stats about the number of people that don’t use up their whole allotment. Well Harvard has posted the results of their research that actually shows that people who take vacation will increase your chances of getting promoted, not the opposite like so many assumed.
Shawn Achor, NY Times bestselling author of The Happiness Advantage and Before Happiness partnered with the U.S. Travel Association on their new initiative Project: Time Off looking at how vacation time affects companies and employees. The analysis showed that people started cutting back on vacation over the last four decades because they felt taking vacation would reflect badly on them within the organization. The research actually shows the opposite:
1. Taking vacation increases your chances of getting a raise or promotion.
The research shows you raise you chance of getting a raise or promotion by 6.5% compared to people who leave 11 or more days of vacation time on the table.
2. A positive, engaged brain improves important business metrics
In his book Shawn describes research that shows just how much an engaged brand can improve sales and productivity, 37% and 31% respectively. An engaged brain is a real competitive advantage and taking time off can reset and refresh it
3. Your manager will perceive you as more product.
This is due to the association of happiness with productivity. Just think of how you work when you are happy vs miserable – you are more collaborative, you exude a positive and probably get more done.
Research shows you raise you chance of getting a raise or promotion by 6.5% compared to people who leave 11 or more days of vacation time on the table.
4. Skipping vacation is essentially a pay cut
Have you done the math on what your hourly becomes for every vacation day you don’t take? You are essentially working for free on those days and giving yourself a pay cut! Why would you do that?
Did you think that taking vacation time had a negative impact on your manager’s perception of you? It is time to change the culture in your organization if you aren’t encouraged to take time off!