Hidden Benefits of Time Off: How Employees AND Companies Win

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air!” my friend Robin yells, and immediately launches into the TV show’s opening theme song. Her nine-year-old son, who just read the trivia question that triggered this outburst, looks confused and a little annoyed. “You didn’t even let me finish the question!” he exclaims.

We’re sitting in beach chairs on a grassy lawn by the lake at Camp Mather, playing Trivial Pursuit. Camp Mather is a family camp near Yosemite National Park that the city of San Francisco has run for over 100 years. It’s a place for city folk to get out into nature and disconnect. Even now in the age of Starlink, there is no cell service or Wi-Fi, and campers leave their devices at home (or hide them pretty well).

What I Learned from Disconnecting

Being truly disconnected is a blessing. We visited the camp in late June with two other families, and it was wonderful not to monitor my email or worry about what I was missing at work, because I truly couldn’t do anything about it. We set the kids up with walkie-talkies and gave them free rein to explore the camp while we spent time with our friends.

It sounds funny, but I think being disconnected from work actually helped us connect in other ways. We connected with nature, of course, but also with our friends and even strangers. We made memories that we’ll share and treasure for a lifetime (like that game of Trivial Pursuit) and made new friends, too. Just 48 hours after returning to San Francisco, we met up with some of them to watch the World Cup together.

Why You Really Should Take That Vacation

I’ve been making an effort since my Camp Mather experience to remind our team to really, truly take time off. You don’t have to check your email. You don’t have to call in for that one meeting. Just log off and truly be off.

It’s always seemed counterintuitive to me that some companies discourage vacations, because the experiences we have on vacation feed us as humans, and the more well-fed and refreshed we are, the better we are at work. Even quick breaks have big benefits for productivity, work-life balance, and job satisfaction.

Plus, when people take time off, it forces managers to look at their processes and make sure they have the coverage they need. That can help them spot gaps and prevent problems in the future. So ultimately, it’s win-win for you and the business even if something does go wrong.

If you haven’t taken a vacation yet this summer, this is your sign to do it! Your work will be there when you get back, and you’ll probably be even more productive after your time off.

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