Home » Articles » Five reasons why taking annual leave is good for the business

1. Maintaining performance

Even machines need down-time for maintenance. If you want your car to work well for you for many years you take it for a service now and again. So what about your staff? You can’t expect them to work at peak performance all year round without a break. So if you want them to perform well they must take some time off.

2. Breaking thought habits

We all get into habits. Those habits are not only about how we do stuff, they are also how we think about things. We all need a change of thought now and again. It is not unusual for people come back from holiday with bright ideas about new ways of doing things. Just getting out of the office is important to make people think differently – to get them out of the thought habits of everyday life.

3. Creativity from play and new experiences

People need experiences in order to be able to grow as human beings. If you want real, dynamic human beings working for you they must have new opportunities. They also need to relax and take their foot off the accelerator for a little while, then they will return re-energised and ready to do more good things. Creativity is like a child. If you want creative people in your organisation you have to give them time to play. If your employees’ whole lives are driven and stressful then their creativity will wither and die.

4. Maintaining relationships

Families are important too, and they need time investment. If employees are working all the time they can’t give enough time to their families to retain those relationships. Relationship breakups cause people to become hugely distracted and can often cause the onset of depression. Once something like that happens it can take months if not years before they really function at their peak again. So it is far better for them to take time off occasionally to maintain those relationships.

5. Find out what they do at work

If you have ever wondered what a member of staff does all day the best way to find out is to have them go on holiday for two weeks. One week is often not enough, but when someone is away for two weeks or more others will have to step in and do their job. Then you will get an insight into how they work and what they do. You will have to delve into their working methods and answer queries that they would normally deal with. It is a perfect opportunity to find out how they deal with their job first hand. By the time they come back you will have a clear idea if they are truly good at their job and work in a structured, organised way, or whether they are bouncing from one chaotic mess to another.

So next time someone asks for time off – give it to them with pleasure!