The number of days holiday we have depends on the company we work for. Full time workers are eligible to a minimum of 28 days paid holiday per year including bank holidays. No matter how many days holiday you get per year, we explain why you should always take your holiday entitlement.
Why You Should Always Take Your Holiday Entitlement
If you’re tempted not to take your full holiday entitlement because you are too busy and have too much on think again. In the long term you will be more productive in your job if you take all your holiday days. Your boss will thank you for it!
Time To Refresh Your Batteries
Holidays are the time when you get to recharge your mental and physical energies. You’ll sleep more, your blood pressure will go down and your body will have enough time to really relax. Once you go back to work after your holiday you will feel re-energised to tackle your tasks with a new found vigor. This is important for both yourself and your employer!
“Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.” – Ada Louise Huxtable
Work Life Balance
Let’s face it, we are more interesting people when we have a well rounded life that includes time away from work to enjoy hobbies, sports and our social lives. Being away from your job makes you realise that you are not your job. Summer is the perfect time to take time off work and just be yourself and enjoy all the wonderful things that summer brings. Life is about balance, you don’t want to look back at you life in years to come and regret working too hard and not living life enough.
Holidays are a self-assessment period when you can re-evaluate your life and where you are headed. You may even decide that you need to progress your career, whether that is applying for a promotion, asking for a pay rise or applying for a new job elsewhere.
Prevent Stress & Illness
Stress related illness is on the rise. It’s never been more important that you don’t succumb to the stresses of work. You may feel like you can’t possibly take any time off because you have too much to do and not enough time but in the long run that could be very dangerous for your health.
No matter how much you love your job or how little time you have to get everything done, if you push your body too far it will break. Is not taking enough time off work worth risking a potentially long illness?
It is human nature that your body needs the right balance of periods of rest and periods of working hard. For example, when exercising you need rest days when your muscles are given the chance to repair and it is in the process of repair that the muscles grow. Likewise, it is in the periods of rest from work that your body and mind recharges and strengthens.
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” John Lubbock, The Use Of Life
Fresh Ideas & Inspiration
If you have a problem that you are feeling stuck with, sometimes we think about things so much that we need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Giving your brain time to have a longer break from thinking about work related topics will allow fresh inspiration to creep in.
If you go abroad for your holiday you will be experiencing new things that will broaden your horizon on life which is always a good thing when needing new inspiration. Learning new languages or information about new cultures means you are growing as a person.
Even if you don’t go abroad for your holiday, just having a break from your usual routine and usual environment will mean that your mind’s creativity won’t be hindered.
If you do find inspiration suddenly pops into your head while you are on holiday, just write it down so you don’t forget and more importantly so you can switch off from thinking about work again.
If you liked this blog on ‘Why You Should Always Take Your Holiday Entitlement’, read our other blogs with career advice for employees.
Contact 2i Recruit