Across the summer months, some organisations may experience a quieter working environment because of people taking their well-deserved breaks and annual leave. However, sometimes employees may find it challenging to switch off from work completely, even when they’re aware of the fact that they need to prioritise their wellbeing.
Annual leave exists for a reason, to give people the opportunity to rest and enjoy time away from work. Despite this, 61% of workers didn’t take all of their annual leave last year. 1 in 10 UK employees said this was because they felt pressured by management.
People may still feel a stigma associated with taking time off from high pressure, fast moving job roles, and this demonstrates how crucial it is for businesses and HR managers to actively ensure that employees are not only happy in their role but are taking that necessary step back and using their annual leave to recharge and re-energise.
Employee engagement and retention should be a large focus across all businesses, along with a good strategy around wellbeing perks and employee incentives amongst the cost-of-living crisis. Without stepping away from work, people could lead to a slippery slope of burnout. It’s vital that employers support their employees in finding a healthy work-life balance by actively encouraging them to use their annual leave, take breaks and make use of employee rewards and health benefits they offer in order to maintain high morale and productivity.
Taking all given annual leave
Whilst good pay packages are an important part of looking after employees, it’s important to offer other benefits and experiences to ensure people are following a healthy work-life balance in order to take care of their wellbeing and avoid any burnout in the long run.
A large part of this is encouraging all employees to take their annual leave and try to maintain a healthy work-life balance. 32% of UK workers have said they are expected to work outside of their normal hours or ask their juniors to do so, which has led to 24% admitting that they are at their mental limit. This shows, people still find it a challenge to take time off, and employers can, and should, do more to support their employees.
As a result, it’s vital for organisations to actively encourage their employees to take their annual leave throughout the year. This starts with leaders ensuring they take their holidays in order to drive a healthy working culture that allows other employees to switch off from work. Setting a good example goes a long way and our colleagues will feel more comfortable requesting annual leave when they know their higher ups are doing the same. Here, leaders need to ensure that there is sufficient cover for when someone goes on holiday and that a thorough handover has been done that allows other employees to have an oversight of tasks at hand. Having a thorough handover process in place also gives employees going away peace of mind that their accounts are in hand. On the other hand, those covering will be able to complete any important work without needing to contact their colleagues on holiday, allowing them to switch off from work entirely.
In addition, organisations should send regular reminders to their teams to take their holidays and have a simple and efficient booking system in place that makes the process easy.
Boosting employee morale
Employee retention and engagement should be a top priority for businesses. On top of fostering a good work-life balance and encouraging employees to take time off, it’s vital to understand how else to boost engagement and morale amongst teams.
As such, organisations should also focus on providing certain benefits that will contribute to their employee wellbeing and mental health throughout the entire year. This can include a rewards and recognition programme that celebrates employees for certain milestones, birthdays or commendable work. Regular recognition will help employees feel valued for the time and effort they are putting into the company’s success, which in turn can reduce employee turnover and create a happier, and in effect, more productive team.
This can be particularly important over the summer period, where in some cases, many employees do take more time off. Small benefits like multi-choice vouchers, free food trucks or team experience days out (maybe even a summer party) can help employees feel more positive about coming into the office and spending some more time with their colleagues. This can also help reduce the end of summer slump and keep employees motivated and engaged as we move into the colder seasons.
It’s understandable that all businesses will have different working hours and expectations from their employees, but in order to maintain a happy workforce and productivity, it’s vital that all organisations encourage a healthy work-life balance, allow their employees to switch off from work when necessary and take a step away to recharge. By having leaders set an example through fostering healthy working habits, businesses can ensure all employees take their annual leave. In addition to this, recognising employees for their work and making them feel valued will improve retention and increase productivity amongst teams. All of this will translate into increased business success, so really, it’s in all organisations best interest to ensure their employees feel well looked after.
Danni Rush
Danni Rush is Chief Operating Officer for Virgin Incentives, Virgin Experience Days and Virgin Experience Gifts. Her passion for team engagement, having seen the positive impact that a highly engaged and motivated team can have on business performance. Danni leads the customer experience, corporate sales, product development, partnerships and the people strategy and helped the business navigate through the challenging pandemic period to increase employee engagement ratings and win gold at the 2021 UK Employee Experience Awards.
