The Importance of Recharging

Here's some great advice by Richard Branson in his weekly syndicated article. He very astutely breaks down what we all know about the importance of recharging and taking time off. One particular paragraph caught my eye and sums up pretty well my views on the business culture in the US when it comes to taking time off.

It’s also important to take a good look at your company’s policies regarding holidays and paid vacation leave. Sadly, in some countries, particularly the US, companies do not allow employees enough time to relax and recharge. The traditional two-week holiday is just not enough; this attitude of discouraging employees from taking vacations encourages absenteeism and unhappiness. In Europe, most businesses have a better sense of what is appropriate and what will work for both employee and employer.

I'm a big believer in the idea that time off does not neccessarily mean a gap in productivity. Little things, such as an added week of vacation per year or leaving early on Friday's, have a minimal impact on productivity but can have a huge impact on morale. Some progressive companies have begun to institute programs such as ROWE (Results Oriented Work Environment) giving employees more flexibility when it comes to traveling or working from home, provided they still perform at optimal levels. Bestselling author Daniel Pink has written several books on the changing landscape of work and has really challenged our traditional work culture and how its narrow focus restricts possibility. Pink has concluded that what employees really want is is autonomy, master and purpose with the ability to better balance their work life with their interests and home life.

Here's a fantastic TED lecture by Pink on this very subject. Take twenty-minutes to view the video, it challenges many notions that we all have about intrinsic motivation.

Common sense tells us that a happy worker is a productive worker. The traditional model of management pitted against the employees in a battle to ensure productivity is outdated. Giving someone autonomy is not a bad thing.  If we can shift the focus from keeping an eye on everyone to make sure they put in their eight hours to simply making sure the work is completed you'll have happier and more fulfilled employees which should, in turn, lead to more productivity in the long run.