Encourage employees to take a break

As the famous lyrics from George Gershwin's classic assert, "Summertime, and the livin' is easy."

Summer, as he suggests, is the perfect season to take a break from the daily grind to relax and recharge. The weather is warm, schools are on break, and activities are plentiful.

According to the U.S. Travel Association: "Vacation is essential for strong bonds, a productive workforce and a fulfilled life. But each year more than half of Americans leave vacation time on the table, accumulating to 768 million days in 2018." Why do so many hard-working people neglect to use this important benefit?

Each year I ponder this question as I look for ways to encourage my own employees, as well as others, to fully utilize their time-off benefits. It may come as a surprise that vacation pay is not a legally mandated benefit but has been traditionally offered to full-time (and increasingly part-time) employees as a key component of a competitive total rewards package.

The average number of paid days off per year has been slowly increasing and restrictions on tapping into vacation time, especially during the first year of employment, have been easing. Given the hiring challenges facing employers, erring on the side of generosity by allowing employees more flexibility is being used as an effective tactic to attract and retain talent.

So, back to the question at hand, "Why aren't people using their vacation time?" Here are a few of the more common reasons:

• Heavy workloads make employees feel that taking time away will burden co-workers and will also make their own jobs harder when they return.

• Employees feel they can't financially afford to take a real vacation, so they just keep working even if their employer doesn't pay out unused vacation time (which is also not legally required).

• Management does not support the use of time-off by failing to approve requests or even punishing employees who tap into their earned time-off.

• Leaders are poor role models and rarely take time off themselves.

During the pandemic, employers found that it was even more difficult to get employees to use time-off benefits because people claimed there was nothing to do and nowhere to go. Some employees even reported that they were saving days up to use in the event of a family emergency or for an extended vacation after the pandemic.

As evidenced by long delays at airports and crowded highways, Americans are on the road again. As someone who considers travel to be one of life's greatest gifts, I am thrilled. However, I've also learned to savor a "staycation" in the comfort of the Chicago suburbs where there are beautiful hiking trails, great restaurants, live music events, and farmers markets every day of the week.

With the incidence of burnout and mental illness on the rise, there has never been a more compelling reason to promote the myriad health benefits offered by time away from work. The past few years have been particularly tumultuous and the continued stressors in our world have taken their toll on most. Employees may feel guilty taking time off if it is not supported by their organization's leaders.

Providing reminders about why these benefits are offered and encouraging employees to take full advantage of them is a good place to start. Nurturing a culture where people feel comfortable sharing stories or pictures of how they used their time away, where they travelled, and who they enjoyed spending time with will help to further promote the full utilization of this valuable benefit.

• Mary Lynn Fayoumi is President and CEO of HR Source in Downers Grove.