I recently just stayed at home for a worst
fever in two days only . I used this off time not only because i’m sick , but
such a recovery on the other hand of my daily ‘works’ .
Actually , it
would be a wonderful experience if i’m in vacations , Just really dont want all
of the business ‘’stuff’’ rolling again in my head .
Once I could fully disengage from what was
happening on the mainland of works, I could literally “feel” the restorative power of just
kicking back and enjoying the time off.
I just read an
article from “Terry Sturbucker” which really shows every employes desires
,copied as belows :
“ That rest and recovery did me a lot of good, because I sit here today
with a ton of renewed energy and focus.”
And realized
something that was even more significant – as business leaders we MUST
acknowledge the value of “time off” for our teammates, and, even more
importantly, for OURSELVES.
I’ve
considered myself a “hard charger” throughout my professional career – I’ve
gone many years where I didn’t take the vacations that I was entitled to, or
worse, turned a few vacations into remote work sessions.
In
hindsight these were bad decisions – the ability to disconnect from our busy
lives and recharge our human batteries, even if those disconnections are of a
relatively short duration, has been proven to be one of the best productivity
tools a leader can possibly possess.
He
cited an item from Ernst & Young where in 2006 they “did an internal
study of its employees and found that for each additional 10 hours of vacation
employees took, their year-end performance ratings from supervisors (on a scale
of one to five) improved by 8 percent“.
Just
getting more sleep every night can make a huge difference. Schwartz noted
that in a recent study of nearly 400 employees “researchers found that sleeping too little —
defined as less than six hours each night — was one of the best predictors of
on-the-job burn-out.“. And, he quoted a Harvard
analysis that estimated that “sleep deprivation costs American companies $63.2 billion a year in lost
productivity”.
Even
15 minute breaks, or a short catnap, can help us.
With
all this evidence staring at us, the question becomes, why are we still so
addicted to work, work, and more work?
Ultimately,
it’s all a matter of leadership expectations, and the examples that we set.
If a
leader is a workoholic, never takes vacations, is in the office until 8PM every
night, sends out e-mail on the weekends, and sees “time worked” as the best
measuring stick instead of “productivity”, then everyone else will have to
follow that lead.
This
“follow the pack” mentality was a lot of my motivation to skip vacations and
stay very late at the office – EVERYONE else, including my boss, was doing it.
Sure,
we attempted to “enforce” vacations by putting strong language in our employee
manuals for everyone to take them, but that only made us THINK that everyone
was getting their appropriate R & R.
In the
end, it all flows from the top.
Leaders
MUST see the incredible value of rest and recovery, and they not only need to
talk that talk, but walk that walk.
Let’s
take the breaks we need to rejuvenate ourselves, and give our teammates the
same opportunities.
The
productivity gains will make a huge difference.
And
better still, as fellow humans, we can also improve the quality of our lives.
I
hadn’t WATCHED and marveled at a sunrise for many years – until last
week. It signaled a new day, a new perspective, and a renewed
spirit.
Get
your R & R, and lead well! “
Well, the above
article proves everything of the ‘employees’ are needed !!!
