Dive Brief:
- A new report that dispels workplace myths found high-performing workers take the most vacation time of all employees. Namely's HR Mythbusters 2017 uncovered aspects of employee tenure, vacation time and turnover rates after analyzing data from 125,000 employees.
- High-performing employees take, on average, 19 vacation days compared to an average of 14 days for low-performers, according to the report. Another myth disproved is that millennials job hop, but boomers don't; the median tenure for the older generation is in actuality a relatively short 2.5 years.
- Other key findings in the report revealed that workers with paid time off (PTO) plans take 15 vacation days off a year, while those with unlimited vacation time take only 13 days. And as an organization's staff grew, turnover decreased exponentially.
Dive Insight:
Studies show that many workers don't take their allotted vacation time. High performers are assumed to be workaholics who never take time off. But the report results showed the opposite, suggesting that perhaps high performers do so well at work because they take time off. HR might encourage other employees to take vacation so they avoid burnout and return to the office revitalized and more productive.
Sometimes there are cultural barriers in place discouraging employees from taking time off, such as colleagues that feel put-upon when filling in for others or managers that seem to look down upon those that take vacation. HR departments must train managers to respond appropriately to such requests, as well as encourage openness to fellow employees taking the time they need.
