Breathing Space July 2025

Take your PTO!

Honestly, it never crossed my mind that I would ever have to suggest that someone use their paid time off. Until…I found myself working in a county and slowly learned that there was a culture of supervisors not taking all their vacation time. (I’m not talking about saving days for a monthlong trip to Europe. I mean feeling like they shouldn’t take time off because it would put a burden on their colleagues.)

The problem with an organizational culture that includes that kind of thinking is that it undoubtably spreads. In the county that triggered this newsletter topic, the idea of not taking time off spread to most supervisors AND to caseworkers, some of whom learned that this is how we do things here.

Let me first applaud that sense of commitment and empathy toward colleagues and the work (as misguided as it is!). But I encourage us all to consider the long-term consequences of modelling that behavior within your county. Do you really want to create a culture where burnout is worn as a medal of honor? 

Need hard data? How’s this:

• Using PTO can significantly reduce stress and improve employee productivity—by as much as 80%
• People who took more than 11 vacation days were nearly twice as likely to receive raises compared to those who took 10 or fewer. 
• After vacations, employees report substantial gains in following:
  • Feeling more positive (68%)
  • More energy (66%)
  • Greater productivity (58%)
  • Enhanced motivation (57%)
  • Better work quality (55%)

Clearly, when it comes to PTO, you earned it, so take it. It’s good for the mind, body, your work,  and your colleagues! If you burn out, we all lose. Taking time off is not a luxury; it’s basic maintenance. Like oil changes for your car or that dental appointment you’ve rescheduled three times.

Worried about leaving your team? Remember: you’re modeling something powerful. You’re showing your colleagues, your families, and yourself that it’s okay to pause. That rest is part of resilience. That you’re a whole human being, not just a machine with a good heart.

Dan

P.S. This will help: On your last day in the office before vacation, make it a completely free day (no meetings of any kind). Use the whole day to tie up any loose ends you need to in order to leave work behind free of worry. And plan the same thing for the first day back to work. In fact, if your first day back is Monday, tell everyone it is Tuesday. Use that Monday to catch up on the 1,439 emails that came in when you were gone…

Source: Zucker, R. (2023, July 19). How taking a vacation improves your well-being [Audio article]. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2023/07/how-taking-a-vacation-improves-your-well-being