{"id":18556,"date":"2022-10-31T14:29:26","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T12:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/?p=18556"},"modified":"2022-10-31T14:29:26","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T12:29:26","slug":"mental-health-work-tackling-vacation-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/mental-health-work-tackling-vacation-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental health at work: Does taking time off truly reduce stress?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cHi, I\u2019ll be out of the office from Tuesday through Friday this week. I\u2019ll be checking email in the afternoons and will get back to you as soon as I can!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Does this out-of-office (OOO) message look familiar? Its tone is cheery, but the frantic promise to keep up with messages communicates anything but relaxing downtime.<\/p>\n

Time away from work is crucial to employees\u2019 mental health.<\/strong> Taking time to recharge boosts employee happiness and productivity, and keeps your retention rates high. But even as more employers tout the importance of employee well-being<\/a><\/strong>, time off, and work\/life balance, this \u201cnot working (but really still working)\u201d attitude is common among today\u2019s workers.<\/p>\n

If time off supports mental health at work, why are so many employees struggling to take it? Or coming back more worried and burned out than when they left?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at how time off may be creating more employee anxiety and how you can help employees overcome that anxiety to come back refreshed and ready to work.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why not being truly \u201cout of office\u201d hurts mental health at work<\/h2>\n

People are having a hard time unplugging from work, and it\u2019s taking a toll. They overwhelmingly continue to work through their personal leave. In our own recent research<\/a>, 30% of employees polled said they check their email regularly on vacation, and nearly half of those said they check it every day.<\/p>\n

A big percentage of the working population is experiencing burnout<\/a>, meaning issues like lower productivity, poor employee well-being, and high turnover rates are on the line. And with so many people working remotely, the lines between work and personal life are less clear than ever, making it harder to check out of work completely.<\/p>\n

Businesses are aware that time off to refresh and recharge is important.<\/strong> But the current system isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n

Unlimited vacation and other (unused) perks<\/h3>\n

Many companies offer PTO and a growing number have adopted the idea of unlimited vacation time<\/a>. But in the past, research<\/a> showed that in many cases, employees with no PTO limits actually took fewer days off than those with restrictions. And since the pandemic, employees, in general, are taking fewer days off, so even traditional PTO models aren\u2019t being used to the full extent.<\/p>\n

Though companies may support well-being with work\/life balance, flexible schedules, and work-from-anywhere policies, they can\u2019t guarantee employees will take time off from work to relax and recharge.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Simply offering the perks isn’t enough.<\/p>\n

\"Mental<\/p>\n

Why employees struggle to disconnect<\/h2>\n

Many employees experience what\u2019s known as out-of-office anxiety. They have a hard time totally disconnecting from work for several reasons, including:<\/p>\n