As you read this, more than likely I am in the Swiss Alps. There is a smile on my face as I write that! Yep, my family and I are on the trip of a lifetime.  My mom emigrated some 50 years ago as a young college business grad electing to be a nanny to a family in Dallas in an effort to become proficient in the English language.  She stayed!  Needless to say, the majority of my family still lives in Switzerland. On the Filippo side of the equation, we also have family in Sicily…many we have not met!  That being said, as a first generation American, I have always dreamed of the vacation in which we take the grandparents to explain and the kids to understand their rich heritage. My mom will be on this trip.  Her being fluent in seven languages and knowledge of the area will be a huge help, but more importantly, her imparting all of the history to my kids is priceless and something none of us will ever forget.

Have I told you this is a “backpack only” trip?  We are all getting out of our comfort zone with that rule (those that know me well are probably laughing right now)!  We will go from visiting where my mom grew up in the tiny village of Poschiavo, Switzerland, to staying at a hotel which was once owned and still has my family name.  We will be visiting where my mom was born, the church she attended, the town square she frequented and hiking in the mountains she once skied.  Treating the family to gondola rides in Venice, taking pictures at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, swimming in the Italian Riviera, taking in the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel are all going to be checked off the bucket list.  I have a new appreciation for travel agents since I put together the itinerary myself!

Hoping all of you know I am NOT bragging…I am authentically wanting to share my excitement and gratitude at having this small window of time with my family (all 3 kids are going) and being able to leave with a new understanding of our roots.  Since it is so important, I am setting the boundaries of being totally unplugged from work.  My biggest task during this trip will be documenting it in pictures and posting them on Instagram (@clfilippo)!

As we are easing into the lazy days of summer and your own family vacation time, I thought we might all need to be reminded how foundational taking that time off is to regenerate and be your best self, the of you encouraging your employees to take vacation days and, finally, some of the hidden dangers (yes there are some!) of taking that needed time off.

Here’s a hard fact that we know about your businesses: You and your employees are spending too much time in the office and online. It’s not healthy for them. It’s not healthy for their families. And it’s not healthy for your company.  The current culture across Corporate America is now one of constant contact, workloads that never end, and work and family time bleeding into each other in unprecedented ways. While our technology provides us a lot of flexibility, it can also have the opposite effect if your employees don’t feel empowered to disconnect and decompress in a meaningful way.

So many people are not taking their well-earned vacation time. U.S. employees surrendered 169 million days of paid time off, totaling $52.4 billion in lost benefits in 2016 alone, according to research from the U.S. Travel Association.  This work overload can result in psychological stress, health issues, and a diminished life span. Europeans on the other hand, with their 20 and 30 days of paid “holiday” every year, live longer and spend less on health care than Americans.

When people take the time to go on a vacation, they tend to return happier and more relaxed. Traffic? A smile and nod instead of a flip of the finger. Drama at the office? A deep breath and a focus on the task at hand.  And those mellow, good vibes that we get from time off spread “like wildfire” to everyone we come in contact with making for a much more content workforce.

The Case for Taking an “Unplugged” Vacation
Research indicates there is a definite connection between taking regular breaks during the day and our level of productivity. While these daily breaks can keep us going over the short term, it’s crucial that we take longer breaks from work, in the form of vacation time, to sustain and even build on our ability to remain nimble and productive.

Vacation time also allows us to pursue other interests and/or give our mind some “breathing room” to be able to think through work issues from a different perspective. Last week while on a road trip with my daughter, my mind seemed to open up as I listened to some great blues music and looked out the window at the rolling farmland passing by.  Innovative, forward-thinking companies encourage their employees to take such breaks in order to see what new solutions or initiatives they might come up with.  Keep in mind the leaders, coming from a higher level, will likely gain a new perspective on the vision, the marketplace and/or the direction of the company.

So, what keeps leaders from taking these needed breaks?  One common assumption is that we’re indispensable to our team or clients…maybe work wouldn’t continue in our absence. While this might make you feel good about yourself, it is far from a healthy stance for the organization, both in terms of the company’s growth, innovation and overall morale. By taking time off from work, leaders provide their team members with the opportunity to develop the skills and confidence to effectively “hold down the fort” while you’re away.

How Do I Encourage My Employees to Take Time Off This Summer?
As a person who sets the tone for an organization, it is imperative that you encourage your workforce to take much needed breaks. Employees who take the least time off are among the most stressed. And employers lose around $300 billion annually due to employee strain, according to the World Health Organization.  Remind everyone in the company that taking time off can have the benefits of increasing engagement, reducing stress, and preventing employee burnout.

There are a couple of good ways you can convince employees to take their paid time off.  One of the most effective ways is making sure you are walking the talk. Telling employees to take their vacation time will come across as empty words if your organization’s senior leaders aren’t taking time off themselves. As I often say, company culture is established from the top down…both the good and the bad.  The management team needs to model the work-life interplay they want for their employees. If leadership doesn’t value time away from the office enough to take it themselves, why would an employee feel empowered to take advantage of their own paid time off?

You also absolutely want to make sure each employee knows that you and the team have their backs.  A common reason employees won’t take time away from work is the fear of being buried by a pile of even more work upon their return. Proactively take care of that concern by developing a plan for vacation coverage. Have employees list out their daily tasks and deliverables and encourage their fill-in to cross train in those responsibilities beforehand to establish a routine both are comfortable with. As I was checking out with the team last week, one of them said with a smile, “I think we will make it without you.”  Ha – a message for me that I was good to go!  Knowing the team’s taking care of business is crucial for us to completely separate from work during their time away…and enjoy it!

Beware of the “Let Down” Effect
So here’s the bad news…sometimes a vacation can actually make you sick!  Do you remember in college when you would head home after final’s week? This was after creating a huge sleep deficit and stuffing yourself with bad food due to the final exam stresses – then you found yourself in bed the entire time sick as can be?  Or have you ever made that final push before vacation – staying up late, neglecting your workout routine and giving up family time?  Then, same scenario, you get on the plane to take that much-needed vacation and find yourself feeling sick and you are thinking “Not now!  I can’t get sick on vacation!”

A colleague of ours, Dr. Ken Nowack (envisialearning.com), recently wrote about a phenomenon he discovered through a friend of his who is on faculty at the UCLA School of Medicine — Marc Schoen, Ph.D. who has been studying this exact mind-body connection in his book, “When Relaxation is Hazardous to your Health”.  Indeed, relaxation can actually be a contributor to getting sick – particularly if you unwind too fast and move from a chronically excited “stress state” to a sudden “relaxed” state. There is even a name for this — the “let down effect”.

As Shoen discusses in his book, when you are struggling under the burden of work or family pressures, your body releases a number of stress hormones which mobilize your immune system against illness. When the stressful period ends, your immune system “pulls back its troops” and the body becomes less vigilant in weeding out internal and external invaders. At the same time, says Schoen, a reservoir of body chemicals called prostaglandins, left over from the stress response, tends to produce inflammation, and can trigger problems like arthritic pain, migraines and exacerbate other stress-related conditions.

Here are some options recommended by Schoen to minimize the Let-Down Effect and let you enjoy your time off:

• Schoen recommends techniques that activate the immune system a little, and thus keep it from slowing down too rapidly after a period of stress. Try short bursts of exercise which can trigger a positive immune-system response.
• Try some problem-solving activities, like crossword puzzles or other brain exercises, under time constraints. “Several studies show that doing math computations at a rapid pace actually increases immune-system activity,” says Schoen.
• Practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, which can give your mind and body a rest stop from the day’s anxieties. This deep breathing can lower your heart rate, slow your brain waves, and even reduce your blood pressure.

The idea is to move more slowly from your current fast-paced and chronically stressed state to a more gradual relaxation state. It’s the “unwinding before you unwind” condition.  I’ve actually done that intuitively by trying to extend vacations from 7 days to 10-14 days because I noticed it took about 3 days to begin to unwind and enjoy the time off!

All of this is to say that it is vital to your health and well-being (and to your employees!) to take that time off this summer – but if you are running at a fast pace, prepare your body accordingly for the time off.  Why don’t you let us know what trips you are taking and even send us a picture of yourself on vacation? Hope you have a great week – and if you haven’t already…book that holiday!