Vacations and Vocations

Company vacation policies are a vital part of the employer-employee relationship. The summer months bring into sharper focus vacation policies, and how to balance getting work done with giving employees the time off they need and deserve. Vacations, family commitments, and personal travel are part of the summertime rhythm in the workplace. How business leaders balance work requirements with employee expectations for time off can significantly impact morale and productivity.

Our Catholic faith does not just make room for time off; it encourages it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that:

Just as God ‘rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done,’ human life has a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of the Lord's Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives.

As ambassadors for Christ in the marketplace, we need to actively encourage employees to take time off in order to meet their commitments to faith and family. The economy may be a factor in employees not taking time off. 

Business Insider shared this:

Buried within the lastest [sic] Bureau of Labor Statistics data on employment, there's one trend that might be bumming workers out: Fewer Americans took time off from work for vacation or personal days in June this year than in June 2022.

‘​​I was surprised to see that the number of Americans who were absent from work for vacations when the survey was done was actually lower than last year,’ Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told Insider. "I had expected to see an increase in vacationing among working Americans. Perhaps inflation is really biting, and people are staying at home rather than paying huge airfare.’

Along with economic reasons for not taking vacation time, employees may have other motives. There may be a culture in the office that discourages vacation time, or a lack of clarity among employees about vacation policies.

Forbes has a thoughtful list of ideas to help encourage employees to use their vacation time. Two caught my attention: Model Unplugging And Taking Time Off, and Add Vacation Leave As A Goal In Annual Performance Reviews. These are two steps Catholic business leaders can take to encourage employees to take time off in the summer (and other times as well). Promoting vacation time is not just a feel-good exercise. It is good for business.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reported that:

Businesses that urge workers to take time off to relax, recuperate and recharge typically have lower health care, workers’ compensation and turnover costs, and they benefit from higher productivity and employee engagement levels.

 But

The problem is that most U.S. workers don’t take full advantage of their paid-time-off benefits, and the negative effects of overworked and burned-out employees can kick businesses right in their bottom line.

The lessons? Businesses benefit from employee vacation time, employees benefit from vacation time, and rest is biblical. This summer, you can take an inventory of your company’s vacation policies, improve them where necessary, engage in dialogue with your employees to make sure they know about the company’s vacation policies, and listen to how they can be improved.

Then go on vacation yourself, and show your team how it’s done!