Why you should be encouraging staff to take more leave

Now, initially, encouraging staff to take more leave doesn’t seem like the brightest idea. After all, if employees are away more frequently, that means more interruptions to projects and workflow. However, while that encouraging your staff to take all their entitled holiday allowance might result them being away at times that are inconvenient from the company’s perspective, there are a number of benefits that outweigh this:

Fewer sick days

Encouraging staff to take frequent days off is likely to result in them taking less sick leave. Having taken the time to recharge their batteries, they’re less likely to fall ill or fall over from stress.

Most importantly, annual leave is arranged in advance and can be planned for, giving you a greater degree of control; the same is not true for sick leave.

Greater productivity

Similarly, healthier, better-rested employees are capable of getting more done. Not only will they perform better individually but, being less stressed, are likely to be more co-operative with their colleagues, improving their productivity as a team.

Plus, less stressed employees are more likely to take care of themselves: eating better, drinking and smoking less, and sleeping better, which also contributes to their productivity.

Better ideas

As well as a physical rest, time off gives staff a mental break too. When they return, it’s possible they’ll do so with some great ideas in tow – especially if they actually went somewhere for a getaway. These could be far-reaching ideas that end up benefitting the company from the top-down, or little ways of doing things differently that make them more effective at their own job.

Increased morale

Firstly, actually encouraging workers to take leave reassures them that you have their interests at heart, making them feel more positively towards the company. Also, as everyone, on the whole, is less stressed and better able to get along, your workplace culture will better too. Over the long-term, this will result in greater company loyalty and a lower turnover rate.

Sharing of responsibilities

In smaller companies, in which a couple of employees take care of a particular business function, such as sales or HR, there might be scope for their colleagues to cover for them. This offers the opportunity to expand their skill set and competence, which is a real motivator for employees that like to learn and need stimulation. Plus, as well as adding value to your employees, you’re making the company more robust and efficient, as you’re removing the bottleneck of only one person being capable of performing certain tasks.