Why You Should Give Employees Time Off

It’s almost like an unspoken contest entrepreneurs are playing: “Well, I was up ’til 3 a.m. working, and then got up at 6 and started again.” As if, on our deathbeds, we will be so so glad we spent most of our waking lives toiling and laboring. As if it matters how much money we’ve earned when our lives are nearly done.

That’s a grim way of saying, hey, if you’re self-employed or are a boss, don’t be gunshy about asking for and giving time off.

TLNT has a great post exploring this issue further from both sides of the PTO request email, and here’s an interesting tidbit it unearthed: “According to a recent report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, examining vacation policies in 21 developed countries, researchers found that every country except the U.S. had laws making employers offer between 10 and 30 paid vacation days a year.”

It’s even trickier if you’re freelance, but let’s put that aside for a moment.

It seems silly that it might take a law to force employers to be more amenable to vacation time. But it doesn’t really have to be that way, and it might change your mind about being more proactive as a boss or employee to read some of TLNT’s bullet points on the matter:

Vacations will facilitate higher energy levels, creativity and a fresh perspective. Taking time off can be very positive for the employee, their co-workers and the clients that they interact with.

All of the benefits of taking time off can improve the bottom line for the company. Employees come back energized and engaged, improving productivity.

Also, TLNT puts it best when it says: “It doesn’t help anyone to have employees burning the midnight oil without a break.”

It really doesn’t.

Read the full post here.

David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as IFC’s comedy, film, and TV blogger, he's also a comedy-writing instructor for Second City and an adjunct professor in DePaul’s College of Computing and Digital Media. (He also co-runs a blog behind the DePaul class, DIY Game Dev.) He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.

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