Family Tours Africa

Vacation time is an essential aspect of an employee’s life as it provides a break from work and helps them relax, rejuvenate and re-energize. However, in many African countries, vacation time is not given the attention it deserves, and employees often forego their vacation days to keep up with the workload. This trend has significant negative effects on the employee’s health, productivity, and overall well-being. One of the most significant effects of a lack of vacation time on African employees is burnout. Burnout is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that results from prolonged exposure to stressful situations, such as work-related pressure. In African countries, where the work culture is often intense, and employees are expected to put in long hours, burnout is a common phenomenon. Without adequate time off to recharge, employees are more likely to suffer from burnout, which can lead to absenteeism, decreased productivity, and even chronic illness.

Another effect of a lack of vacation time is decreased productivity. While it may seem counterintuitive, taking a break from work can actually increase productivity in the long run. This is because vacation time allows employees to rest, relax, and come back to work with renewed energy and focus. Without this break, employees are more likely to feel stressed, tired, and overwhelmed, leading to decreased productivity and increased errors. Vacation time also has a positive effect on an employee’s mental health. In African countries, where the stigma surrounding mental health is still prevalent, employees often suffer in silence, leading to increased stress and anxiety. However, taking a break from work can help alleviate stress and anxiety, leading to better mental health outcomes. Finally, vacation time provides employees with an opportunity to spend time with their families and loved ones. In African countries, where family is an essential aspect of life, this time is particularly valuable. Without it, employees are more likely to feel disconnected from their families, leading to increased stress and decreased job satisfaction. Studies have shown that taking time away from the job can have physical and mental health benefits. People who take vacations have lower stress, less risk of heart disease, a better outlook on life, and more motivation to achieve goals. If you still need a little convincing, here is a list of some of the additional benefits of taking time away from work

Why should employees take vacation?

REST, RELAX & RECHARGE

• Dedicating time for the purpose of rest, relaxation and to recharge is of critical importance; this isn’t often achieved over the course of a weekend, so dedicating time away to unplug can help us to reset.
• Vacations have been known to help improve overall sleep quality.

AVOID BURNOUT, INCREASE MENTAL & PHYSICAL WELL-BEING

• When working under increased demands, individuals can quickly begin to feel rundown, and often experience fatigue, trouble concentrating, etc.
• When we start to feel burned out at work, even the simplest of tasks becomes a challenge. Our passion starts to dull, and we lose some of our drive.

One study showed that a four-day “long weekend” vacation had positive effects on well-being, recovery, strain, and perceived stress for as long as 45 days. While the reduction in strain was greater for those who spent the vacation away from home, the other effects were similar

INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY & FOCUS

• Everyone has their limits, and pushing yourself too far can actually become counterproductive. Most employees felt they were more productive as a result of taking time off.
• Studies find chronic stress can affect the part of the brain that inhibits goal-directed activities and causes problems with memory. Continuous work with no breaks or vacation time can make people feel blocked and distracted, and have problems concentrating. Surveys show almost three-quarters of people who took vacation time regularly felt more energized and ready to tackle the tasks at hand.

LOWER STRESS

• Stress is a true physiological response, originally meant to help us and keep us safe. It releases hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine for the fight or flight response that was necessary for early humankind. However, in modern society, chronic stress can be destructive to our bodies.
• Taking time for regular breaks (including vacations) and leaving our everyday stresses (even if temporarily) give us a break from the constant high levels of these hormones, and a chance to repair.

FOR INSPIRATION

• When we allow ourselves to relax, we’re able to open creative parts of our minds that we may not always be using on a day-to-day basis.
• You can bring this inspiration back with you upon your return, and may find a new/creative way of doing things or solving an issue you’ve been facing.

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING         

While career aspirations are an important focus, the relationships with those closest to you are also of paramount importance.  If you’re constantly logging long hours or checking your phone and email all evening, the important people in your life may begin to feel less important or even neglected. Even a short amount of time away allows you to unplug from your job and spend quality time with your loved ones

TEAM BUILDING

• A sign of trust from a leader to their team is to trust that operations will continue at the required service level, even in the leader’s absence.
• It is a great opportunity to develop leaders while others are away.

BEING PRESENT

• It can be easy to put off taking vacation, especially when there doesn’t appear to be much going on, however, there really is no better time than the present to start enjoying time doing things outside of our professional endeavors (e.g. “unplugged” quality time with family).
• Taking time away isn’t a luxury, it’s essential to your health and well-being.

What are some creative ideas?

GET ACTIVE

• Try out a timed event or challenge (e.g. 14 days of yoga, 30 days of stretching) to introduce your body into new ways of staying physically active, it can also help to clear your mind and can help to reinforce a positive habit.
• Our brains are hardwired to be happier by water – it helps calms us, and gives us clarity. Consider going for a walk or bike ride by a body of water.
• Lots of gyms, fitness centers and other activity centers are offering free live streams, and prerecorded classes for individuals to try their hand a new physical activity.

ENJOY YOUR DOWNTIME

• It can be hard to be stuck indoors all the time, but try to use this opportunity to rest and relax.
• Practice some self-care by creating a stay-at-home spa day.
• Give yourself a break from social media.
• Unplug and disconnect from technology.

HOUSEHOLD PROJECTS

• Get a head start on spring/summer activities around the house, such as gardening, organizing the shed, cleaning off patio furniture, etc.
• Consider scrap material around the house to repurpose into something new (e.g. making a corn hole game from old building materials).
• Paint or refresh areas around your home.
• Consider rearranging items in your home to help create a fresh new space.
• Go through old photos and create albums of your favorites.

START PLANNING (OR DAY DREAMING)

• Plan your next celebration, dream vacation, realistic vacation, a day-by-day menu for the upcoming week, something to make or create each day, a themed day, a bucket list, a project around your home you’ve always wanted to accomplish.

How important is vacation? It can be summed up in one sentence: rested employees are more productive employees. Taking vacation can reduce stress, help prevent burnout and promote work-life balance by allowing for more time to be spent with family, significant others and close friends.

Yet most employees don’t take vacations often enough and many don’t use all of their allotted paid vacation time. According to Expedia’s 2015 Vacation Deprivation Study, American workers reported leaving four full days of vacation on the table each year, with 15 available and 11 taken. As there are approximately 122 million full-time workers in the U.S., that amounts to just under 500 million unused vacation days a year

Failure to Take Vacations Impacts Employee Health

Sixty percent of employees who don’t feel they have appropriate work-life balance are concerned about not having time to take care of themselves in terms of health, diet, and exercise, according to a Harris Interactive survey on behalf of Purchasing Power. And there is cause for concern.

Consistently working long hours and not taking respite away from work can have a damaging effect on health and can negatively affect family life. A nine-year study reported in Psychosomatic Medicine found that vacations actually reduce the risk of heart disease. Men who did not take a vacation for several years were 30 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack than those who took a vacation at least one week a year. The study also reported that skipping even one year’s vacation time can be associated with increased risk of heart disease. The highly-reputable Framingham Heart Study found vacation deprivation may be equally hazardous for women. Women who took a vacation once every six years or less were almost eight times more likely to develop coronary heart disease or have a heart attack than those who took at least two vacations a year.

Why People Aren’t Taking Vacations

What drives people to work such long hours and take few vacations? One explanation is that most workers are intrinsically “workaholics.” Getting ahead at work is fundamental to their self-image and to the image they like to project to their employer and to the outside world.

Some workers take pride in the badge of honor of not taking a vacation or paid time off in years. Others may feel their employer discourages being away from work for long periods of time. Using vacation days pays off for both employees and employers. Employees who take most or all of their vacation time each year perform at higher levels, are more productive and are more satisfied with their jobs than those who do not, according to SHRM’s Vacation’s Impact on the Workplace report. Although getting away on vacation allows for recharging both physically and mentally, many working class people aren’t able to take an out-of-town vacation, primarily due to the cost involved, according to a recent Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power. Conducted in March 2016, the survey showed that 26 percent of full-time employees didn’t go out of town on their vacation last year. Failing to get away comes at a price, in terms of productivity, morale, and health. While staycations may be the only option for some employees, having complete time away and being totally disconnected from the office can be the healthiest step to take. Of those who did not go out-of-town on vacation last year, 68 percent reported that the reason was cost-related. Interestingly, the cost was not just a factor for those with lower salaries, but was a consideration for employees in salary ranges under $100,000:

• 45 percent of those who earn less than $50,000 annually reported that cost was the primary reason they did not go away on vacation;

What Employers Can Do

Employers can help workers with work-life balance by instituting policies, procedures, actions and expectations that enable employees to easily pursue more balanced lives. The benefits of work-life balance to the employer include increased productivity; improved recruitment and retention; lower rates of absenteeism; reduced overhead; an improved customer experience; and a more motivated, satisfied workforce. Work-life balance enables employees to feel as if they are paying attention to all the important aspects of their lives. Employees who can’t afford to get away on vacation don’t recharge both physically and mentally.

In conclusion, vacation time is an essential aspect of an employee’s life, and its benefits cannot be understated. For African employees, taking vacation time can help alleviate burnout, increase productivity, improve mental health outcomes, and provide an opportunity to spend time with loved ones. Employers must prioritize vacation time for their employees to create a healthy and productive work environment.