As the holidays approach, millions of people are taking a much-needed break from the job, expecting to return to work relaxed, refreshed and reenergized. Companies should take notice because emphasizing downtime can pay dividends well beyond the holiday season or traditional time off.
While it seems like an obvious strategy for boosting productivity, too few organizations have thought deliberately about how to build recovery time into the day-to-day workflow.
Beyond higher productivity, a growing body of research shows that taking a break from work can increase job satisfaction, creativity, mental health and well-being among employees. This applies not only to vacation time, but also to mental health days, sick days, and short but regular breaks during the day.
Encouraging employees to engage during the workday in simple activities like walking, going outside, meditating, socializing with colleagues, or just working a different part of the brain can create a more emotionally and physically healthy workplace. Even microbreaks lasting less than a minute can boost attention spans, lower stress and reduce fatigue.
Still, many organizations cling to the old-fashioned notion that high pressure leads to high performance. While it’s true that some pressure can drive us to excel, too much, too often can lead to exhaustion, burnout – or worse.
Relentless periods of intense work can promote stress, anxiety, frustration and, for many workers, depression and other mental health conditions. Depression alone impacts 6-7 percent of American adults and costs an estimated $210 billion annually. It’s a growing crisis in the workplace that calls for attention from the C-suite through the entire ranks of management.
So, how should companies go about building recovery time into the workflow? Organizations are experimenting with many effective approaches.
For starters, companies should emphasize to employees that they recognize the importance of breaks and share information about the potential benefits from taking them. To demonstrate this commitment, some employers create break rooms, redesign workplaces to create a more relaxed environment, and reward employees for logging their “break hours” during the week.
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Organizational leaders should also model good break habits. Employees are less likely to take breaks if they see their boss grinding away at the desk all day. Leaders can set the right tone by using their vacation time and deliberately stepping away from their computer monitors throughout the day – an important signal that it’s ok and even expected to make breaks part of your workday.
Employers can also take concrete steps to build mental health into the company’s culture. Employers have the opportunity to provide resources like EAPs or even offer solutions like depression screening, telehealth, suicide prevention and return to work-focused interventions that can be both cost-effective for employers while also supporting employees. This demonstrates that employers value mental health, recognize the challenges it poses, and are willing to provide support without stigma.
This has taken on added urgency over the past 18 months. As a recent Harvard Business Review article put it, after a year that included the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread social and political unrest, supporting mental health quickly transitioned from “nice-to-have” to a “true business imperative” today.
Work and recovery can peacefully coexist on the job. Building breaks into the workday not only boosts business productivity, it creates a happier, more resilient workforce.
