Should You Send Employees on Vacation? After a hectic schedule of work deadlines and heavy projects, a vacation brings in the fresh air of positivity and relaxation

Your boss is forcing you to take a vacation. Sounds too good to be true! However, this is the latest upcoming corporate policy where employers have realized the multitude benefits of sending employees on a vacation. Some employees have actually started considering the vacation policy along with other factors like retirement plans and pensions before applying for a job. So what's the hullabaloo with the vacation policy?

There are inherent benefits attached when we consider taking a vacation. The argument stands whether it should be a forced vacation dictated by the company or whether employees should be given the leverage to take a time-off when they wish to? Some employees wish to accumulate their holidays and take a longer vacation at a stretch. However, this might not be conducive to the work environment. The company has to be firm in its vacation policies as this is one major factor affecting the employees' productivity. Some companies offer a mandatory vacation after a couple of months which might not align with employees personal holiday schedules or children's school vacations, thereby, defeating the purpose of taking a vacation.

Simply browse through a host of benefits that accrue when you send your employees for a holiday:

Enhances efficiency and productivity

After a hectic schedule of work deadlines and heavy projects, a vacation brings in the fresh air of positivity and relaxation. The employees are bound to join back with reinvigorated energies and enthusiasm.

Vaibhav Gupta, Director of Bicop International, says, "Whenever employees come back from vacations they are infused with freshness and hence higher efficiency. Their productivity improves with each vacation and they express their readiness to take higher challenges and risks."

So to keep the employees recharged and enthusiastic about projects and work, vacation is a fairly good deal.

Enhances creativity

Vacation triggers off the thinking tank and sparks the creativity. Once the brain gets the required break after a hectic work schedule, it is wired to look differently at problems. You tend to develop indigenous solutions to various problems and look for different opportunities. The brain looks for various growth perspectives while at a holiday.

Reena Aggarwal, Founder of Home Signature, confesses, "While on a holiday, the employees always come re-energized with optimism and fresh perspective and newer approach towards work. It is a mandatory practice with our employees to be sent on vacations so that they are creative and infused with novel ideas."

Long-term benefits

The moral of the employees along with improved health benefits are the visible long-term benefits that accrue if you send your employees on vacation. The employees will be relieved of stress and will spend more time taking care of their health. Wouldn't it be nice if there are less number of sickness leaves and reduced expenditure on sick relief of employees? Wouldn't it be a smarter move for the company to take care of the welfare of employees rather than wasting money towards the treatment of sick?

Ashish Gupta, CEO of New Idea Farm Equipment Company, reinforces, "Ever since the policy of mandatory vacation started, there was a drastic decline in the sick leave of employees. Also, they were enthusiastic about working extra hours at work and finishing impending tasks so that they can enjoy the vacation fully. The forced vacation policy was a smart move in the context of good health of employees in the long run." Vaibhav also seconds the opinion that employees will have improved health and happiness if they are allowed to take vacations frequently.

Word of caution- The relevance of a forced vacation is still a debatable topic where some employees might want an accumulated holiday for a longer span or might want a vacation at some other different time period as per their personal schedules. Ayush Jain, Founder of MyStudyDestination also suggests that vacation policy is one amongst the major criteria which the employees consider before applying for a job. So, the framework of holiday policies has to be clearly chalked out considering various aspects.

The bottom line- Employees are happiest and eager to resume work once you send them on a vacation. The company must consider the long-term benefits that arise when employees are sent on vacations. Better cognitive skills and creativity are the distinct benefits when employees are allowed to take time off from the work atmosphere. The company must have clearly specified terms and conditions of this important aspect too.