How Vacations Can Boost Your Productivity at Work

Vacations make you more productive at work. It is scientifically proven.

Hearing that may peek your interest, but it doesn't mean you'll feel inclined to book your next trip. And that isn't only due to the pandemic.

As Americans, we place such a large emphasis on working. We're often all too focused on it, because we need to make money to survive. That's all fair, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't care out time for a vacation here and there.

Approximately 55 percent of us don't use all of our paid vacation time. We don't know about you, but we def don't like that stat. We've only got one life, so why should we spend it all working? Drake said it best, YOLO!

This brings us back to our very first sentence. When we work too hard and too often, we can be more susceptible to burnout, lack of creativity, and even a weakened mental health. That concoction does not make us a good employee. So to save your job and your sanity, take a vacation. It will make you more productive. Read on to discover how so!

They Help Prevent Burnout

Burnout is real. And it's becoming an increasingly major problem as the years go on. For those who aren't familiar with the term, burnout is defined by Merriam-Webster as "exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration."

Burnout isn't only caused by your job, though that is often the biggest culprit. When we experience it, we often don't do our jobs as well as we should. Tasks we were once easily able to get through grow increasingly difficult. You may even find it more frustrating to interact with your coworkers or your boss. And that certainly won't bode well for your career.

Taking time away from our work allows us to be more engaged when we come back. That's what employers want to see, an engaged worker. So take time away to be more engaged.

They Give You Time to Rest

We function in a very capitalist society, where we're measured by our productivity. If we're not productive 25/8, we're basically classified as useless. This leads a lot of us to work and work and work until our bodies have to force us to take a break. By no means is that a good thing. We need more rest, and we're not only talking about sleep, than we think we do.

If we want to perform our jobs as best as possible, it's okay to take frequent breaks. Just make sure that when you do, you completely disengage from your work. That brings us to our next point.

They Allow You to Disengage From Work

We know there are a handful of you reading this that will chime in about how you do take your vacations. But, and it's a big but, how many of you completely disengage from your work when doing so? That's what we thought.

Essentially ghosting your work is tough, we know that. When everything is on our phones, it's easy to respond to one email or take one call. We've all done it, but it's not the best thing to do.

When we allow ourselves the chance to not engage with our work at all while we're on vacation, we'll come back more resilient and productive. We'll find what we do more enjoyable and be able to perform our job better than before.

They Unblock Your Creativity

Doing the same thing over and over again, day in and day out will dull you down greatly. Repetition doesn't do much for your creativity. And for some of us, our creativity is our job. It's our livelihood.

Taking a vacation will not only help you relax and unwind, but it will also unblock your creativity. Being away from your everyday world gives you the chance to experience a whole new life. Getting out of your comfort zone boosts your creativity in ways you wouldn't even know are possible.

Remember, creative workers are productive workers.

They Offer a Number of Health Benefits

We listed a number of ways taking a vacation can make you more productive. Perhaps the most important is the number of health benefits it offers, especially as far as mental health is concerned.

Working tirelessly is so emotionally taxing for every single one of us, no matter what we do. This can deteriorate our mental health rather quickly, which is why taking time away from work is so important.

Take that vacation to preserve your mental health. It is so important to do so. Your job can wait, but your mental health cannot.

Can your job be done from anywhere in the world, so long as you have wifi? Say, even Bermuda? If you answered yes to those questions, we have some exciting news for you. Bermuda is offering a one-year residency for those who work remotely from their islands. Read more about the initiative HERE!