The rainforest in Volcano National Park, Hawaii, May, 2024
Sitting here on the patio, I feel the gentle trade winds of Waikaloa, Hawaii, their sounds a soothing homage to Laʻa Maomao, the Hawaiian god of wind. Tall palms sway in reverence and I find solace in this haven. Yesterday, I saw the delicate courtship ritual of two white cattle egrets, their graceful dance heralding the arrival of spring.
For just over a week, Hawaii has been my sanctuary, a refuge I now realize I desperately needed. In the frenetic pace of our work lives, we often overlook the restorative power of a vacation. How ironic, then, that I find myself here, fingers on the keyboard, rather than fully immersed in nature’s splendor. But my intent is to convey how time away from work can be transformative.
Travelling to Hawaii is a luxury, but a staycation also offers rejuvenation. In the United States, the amount of paid vacation days is typically 11 days, increasing to 15 days after five years of service, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But this pales in comparison to our European counterparts. In France and Germany, leisure time is revered. Thirty days of paid vacation in France, or a generous six weeks in Germany, reflect a culture that values replenishment. Workers in France can utilize paid vacation days from the outset of their employment, accruing at a rate of 2.5 days per month. In Germany, although the standard allocation is around 20 paid vacation days, the abundance of public holidays often translates to a total of 30 paid vacation days per year. Having lived and worked in Germany, I quickly adapted to the luxurious six weeks of vacation per year. My colleagues would often take the six weeks off in one stretch, heading to Australia or Asia.
Yet though we have an opportunity for recuperation from our stressful jobs, there is a paradox. A survey done by Pew Research revealed a troubling trend: 43% of Americans forego their allotted vacation days. This varies by income group: 51% in the upper income salary bracket report not taking all their vacation days compared with 45% in the middle-income group and 41% in the lower income group. Reasons vary, from feeling indispensable at work to fears of professional repercussions: 19% feel that it will hurt their chances for advancement, and 16% feel that it might risk their job. People also worry that they’ll fall behind, or they feel guilty that colleagues will have to take on additional work. This reluctance to take time off though reflects a broader cultural ethos, where dedication to work often supersedes personal well-being.
As a university professor, even I succumbed to the belief that taking time off was a luxury I couldn't afford. Work was a perpetual cycle of responsibilities from writing papers to submitting grants and fulfilling committee obligations. I reasoned that any time away would merely postpone the inevitable workload, doubling my efforts upon my return.
We are not only vacation-starved, but there is also an erosion of boundaries between our labor and leisure lives. In our era of constant connectivity, work extends far beyond the confines of the traditional nine-to-five. Throughout the evenings we answer work-related emails, Slack messages, texts, and phone calls, leaving little time for even a brief personal replenishment. We rely on evening hours to finish work that we couldn’t get to during the day, due to meetings and dealing with email. It’s no wonder then that some people forego vacations—if we take time off, how will we ever finish the work on our plates?
The irony is that we need to psychologically detach from work in order to deal with work-related stress. Unfortunately, the problem is twofold: not taking vacations and being tethered to screens after hours undermines this process, depriving people of sufficient time to destress.
Right to Disconnect laws can potentially can solve the latter issue. Designed to support individuals in disengaging from work outside of scheduled hours, they have been implemented in some countries, including France (with the El Khomri law), Belgium, Spain, and Italy. This law protects workers from punitive reprisal for not answering work-related communications after work hours. But how well do such laws work? It turns out, from a study done in France, that while it sounds good in theory, the stark reality is that workers still feel pressure to answer emails and phone calls from colleagues. The gravitational pull of work obligation remains even when people are given a free pass to disconnect.
But the real psychological detachment from work is when we can have a longer reprieve from the tyranny of deadlines and stress. Each day’s stress compounds upon the last, and chronic stress exerts a toll on both our physical and mental well-being. When we don’t remove ourselves from such stressors, the possibility of burnout is very real, which is an emotional state far beyond mere exhaustion.
There is plenty of evidence to back up the claim that psychological detachment, through vacations, can improve our health and well-being. The well-known Framingham health study followed women over 20 years and found that women who took the least amount of vacation were eight times more likely to die of a heart attack than those who took vacations twice a year. Another study entitled Are Vacations Good for Your Health? found the answer to be overwhelmingly yes. Middle-aged men followed for nine years who took regular vacations showed a 20% reduction in overall mortality and a 30% decline in the risk of cardiac disease.
When we’re absent from work, it enables us to then be more present
But in our relentless pursuit of productivity, which leads to us being perpetually present at work, we risk being profoundly absent. Let me explain. Presenteeism, a state of being fully immersed and energized at the workplace, hinges upon a delicate equilibrium of our cognitive resources. When the demands of work deplete our resources, we just can’t be productive at the same level. Thus, the respite of a vacation not only offers an escape from work, stress and deadlines, but also a chance for renewal. When rejuvenated, we return to the workplace with a newfound presence and vitality.
Evidence backs up this claim. In 2006, the top accounting firm Ernst & Young found that for every 10 more hours of vacation time for their employees, it resulted in an 8% increase in their performance ratings. The rationale is clear: vacations afford us the opportunity to replenish our depleted resources, enabling us to perform at our peak upon our return.
How much vacation time do we need then for it to be restorative, so that we can return to work more present? A study published in the Journal of Happiness studies found that it takes 8 days of vacation before one really peaks in health and wellbeing. In other words, it takes 8 days before one really feels the full benefits of a vacation. The Europeans are really on to something.
We have created a work culture where nearly half of Americans along with organizational decision-makers don’t embrace the value of an extended vacation. However, while an increase in vacation time represents a step in the right direction, it is but one facet of a broader cultural shift necessary to combat work-related stress.
Today I took a hike in the rain forest in Volcano National Park. I was in wonderment of such an ancient woodland. It is now eight days and I’m just starting to feel the real effects of the vacation. Organizations need to hear this message and reevaluate their ethos, elevating health and well-being to become a top priority. A rejuvenated workforce is not merely an asset, but the very lifeblood of progress itself. Let’s not underestimate the transformative power of a real vacation. A vacation allows a recalibration of the soul amidst the tumult of our modern hyper-connected work life.
You can read more about the value of taking breaks from work on our health and well-being in my book Attention Span.