This Boss is a Trip!
Are you singing the summertime blues? As we dive head-first into fall, employees across the country are in a state of regret as unused vacation days continue to accumulate. In fact, according to U.S. Travel Association, 40 percent of U.S. workers don’t plan on using all of their Paid Time Off (PTO) this year.
Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Group, was recently in the headlines for giving workers unlimited vacation days, recognizing that happy employees are efficient employees.
There’s just one caveat they probably won’t use them. Waiter, there seems to be a fly in my ointment.
We have an unwritten rule in our pop culture that taking vacation time will somehow reflect poorly on us and potentially hinder career advancement. CNN also reports that we are so fearful of losing our jobs we keep our rears in our office chairs.
As a progressive thought leader, Collette Liantonio, President & Creative Director of Concepts TV, identified the trend and developed a strategic solution of her own: Instead of giving you unlimited days that you’ll never use, she takes you on vacation herself!
That’s right. Every fulltime employee at Concepts TV is treated to an annual company retreat in addition to their paid vacation time. ‚“I have a tireless team of creative thinkers and hard workers,” says Liantonio. ‚“When you work in a demanding industry, such as ours, it’s important to take a moment to recharge your batteries. It’s healthy for the individual; for the work place and for the work itself.”
Travel certainly inspires creativity and sharpens the mind. In fact, study after study proves that time off rejuvenates and reenergizes; helping employee morale and productivity.
Well, proof is in the pudding and I can certainly attest to that. As a working mom, I am guilty of all of the above. Let’s look at my checklist:
- Do I plan on using all of my PTO? What if my nanny gets sick or my son needs a chaperone for his class trip? I need to keep days on reserve.
- Am I afraid that taking time off will affect my career advancement? Yes! What if they realize they can actually go on without me?!
- Am I afraid of losing my job? Please refer to the answer in question #2.
This year’s luxurious excursion was at the infamous Miraval Resort and Spa, promising days that dripped with adventure and nights catering to relaxation. It sounded heavenly and with the whole office going, the fear factor vanished. So I excitedly embarked on the euphoric escapade. Not only did we have a fabulous time, our creative team came back refreshed and ended up producing one of our biggest spots, ironically entitled, BeActive.
