Permission Slip
Finally, some breaking news I can really get behind:
Vacations are Good for You and Your Employer, according to a University of the Rockies Study
Photo Credit: Flickr.com/AlaskanDude
Looking to squeeze in a few extra days of paid vacation this year? Well, print out this blog post and tack it to the office fridge. New findings from a psychological study show that vacation has been linked to an increase in job satisfaction and professional well-being as well as a decrease in burnout and stress. So turns out somebody has been listening to all those happy hour fueled rants about needing some time off. The study, conducted at the University of the Rockies in Colorado Springs, found that the benefits of vacation length peak at approximately 10 days, which supports previous research findings that 10 to 14 days of vacation may be the optimal length.
Dena Ann Dries, a doctorate student, set out to examine the amount of paid vacation days necessary per year to promote positive employee and employer effects. The study included 143 full-time employees (defined as at least 32 hours per week,) not self-employed and not per diem workers. Participants ranged from 21 to 62 years of age; the median age was 41. Length of vacation taken ranged from one day to 15 days with a mean of 5.23 days.
According to the Dries dissertation, sufficient vacation time stabilizes mental health and contributes to professional well-being. There was a significant difference between those who had taken three or more weeks of vacation and those with only one week or less of vacation.
How much is too much?
“There is a point at which adding vacation days ceases to increase job satisfaction, ceases to impact retention and ceases to impact professional well-being,” the study showed. “Between groups, analysis revealed that participants who took more than three weeks of vacation showed no significant differences in any of the workplace variables with the exception of extreme burnout.”
So what’s the point here? Get away from your desk and get the heck out of dodge….for at least two weeks at a time. You’ll return rested, recharged and ready to take on those professional challenges. Or at least with a renewed fervor to work your tail off to justify another two week vacation next year.
Not sure where to travel? With more than 2,300 by owner vacation rentals worldwide, Scenic Rentals is sure to have the perfect destination for your recharging, relaxing vacation.
Scenic Rentals….Take a Vacation from Hotels!
This entry was posted on Monday, July 19th, 2010 at 2:49 pm and is filed under Colorado, Travel News from Around the World, Travel Tips, U.S. travel news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
