We came back from being away for 11 days and that was 2 weeks ago. I’m still feeling the positive effects of vacation, even though I’m tired from the usual goings-on of life. I loved the change of scenery and I feel recharged after looking at new things and even looking at things I’d seen before, but now through the eyes of our boys.
Travel has always been important to me. It was something we did when as a family when I was growing up and I got the travel bug. When I worked full-time for larger companies, I always negotiated extra vacation time . I took EVERY day of vacation and even sometimes traveled on long weekends.
Americans and vacation
On the flip side, for years before my husband and I met, my husband took off only a few days of vacation each year (4 or less to be exact), even though he had worked at the company long enough to get 4 weeks of vacation. His approach to vacation has changed. My husband’s previous behavior is more like the average American. In comparison to workers in other industrialized countries, Americans take fewer days off on top of getting fewer to begin with. According to a USA Today article, the average American in 2012 got 16 days of paid vacation and holidays. And Americans don’t take all their days. (Keep in mind these days are not required days off by law, but that is a blog topic for another day). As a point of comparison, workers in Austria (country with highest # days off globally) get 35 days and those in New Zealand get 30 (#8 for days off globally).4
Why do we need time away from work
Being the researcher by nature that I am, I looked into the importance of vacation. To begin with, it turns out that chronic stress [like that from work] is really bad for your body1. It can affect everything from digestion to sleep to the body’s ability to fight infection1. Your memory can start to suffer and you could start making worse decisions1. These are only a few of the issues from stress, including work stress.
For those whose jobs use a lot of thinking and general brain power, it’s important to consider our minds aren’t designed to let us work for 8 straight hours a day without mental fatigue setting in. And, the need to combat mental fatigue makes it important to integrate leisure time like vacation into the mix.5
Benefits of travel
So now that I mentioned the negative impacts of too much work and stress in general, let’s switch to the benefits of leisure activities vacation. For starters, time away lets you recoup from work and the stress of everyday life1. “Leisure activities, including taking vacations, contribute to higher positive emotional levels and less depression”2. Vacation, especially to new places or where you see/learn new things, can help with personal and social development1. From what I read, active vacations involving new challenges are most beneficial1, but really, if hanging out at a beach is your thing, go do it. Enjoy the time away whatever that time looks like.
Benefits of travel with family
There are all sorts of reasons to travel with family. Trips are the stuff of memories and stories that you and your kids can tell for years, even for your young children. Having an experience as a family away from usual life helps to create bonds3. Traveling and vacation is an opportunity for a different kind of education, whether in nature or a new place. The “world is your classroom3”. On our recent trip, our older son had the chance to see the work of artists he had studied in his class. The art came to life for him. It was amazing to watch him notice elements in the painting and pushed me to think about things differently to be able to share with a 5-year old and answer his questions.
Benefits at work of vacation
Need a “professional” reason to go on vacation? How about this? “Workers often get many of their best ideas away from work2. Without having to respond to each crisis in the moment, employees have time and opportunity to consider different and innovative approaches2. More than a third of workers report feeling better about their jobs and more productive after taking a vacation2.
Maybe Easter break and Spring Break have already past for your family, but there are plenty of other times of the year when you all can get away. Figure out what you want to do and make it happen. I’m a firm believer in planning way in advance, but take a look at this blog I posted a few weeks ago on travel tips before you leave on a trip.
Have a fun trip you’re planning on taking soon or even in a few years? Have ideas on where you want to go and you want input from other families? Want to share a place you’ve traveled that you really enjoyed? I’d love to hear about it in the comments. Safe travels…
In case you want to read more, I’m including my resources:
2http://traveltips.usatoday.com/benefits-taking-vacation-1755.html
3http://smile.sheknows.com/articles/833973/5-reasons-why-family-vacations-are-important
4http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/06/08/countries-most-vacation-days/2400193/
5Unfinished Business by Anne-Marie Slaughter page 71
http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/25/pf/unused_vacation_days/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/14/how-important-are-vacations_n_963002.html
*Song quoted from “Vacation” from the Go-Go’s
