iCIMS Hire Expectations™

Aloha Kakou, E Komo Mai!

At the risk of incurring the wrath of my coworkers when I get back, I have to admit that as this blog is being posted, I am well on my way to a much anticipated vacation in Hawaii.  It is an especially welcome break since last year I could never seem to get away for any considerable amount of time, which as a dedicated world traveler I find surprising.  Oh, I managed to eat up my allotted days off with a long weekend here or there to take care of this or that obligation, but I never really got away from it all.  And according to the “Wellness in Travel” study recently released by Westin Hotels, I am not alone. 

The Weston study surprisingly found that 64% of Americans have cancelled their vacations due to job worries, despite the fact that 58% feel that they are in need of a vacation and 48% say that they are happier and more positive at work after a vacation.  Granted it is Weston’s job to sell vacations, so some may say these figures are self-serving, but the benefits of vacation time for employees and the workplace are well documented.  For example, a study of workers at Air New Zealand revealed that employee reaction times were 30-40% faster after a vacation than before.  Additionally, workers who take vacations are far less likely to suffer from heart disease than those who do not vacation, and women who do not take time off are twice as likely to suffer from depression as their well rested counterparts.

With all the evidence out there pointing to the health and consequently workplace productivity benefits of vacation, one would think that taking time off would be mandated.  In researching this blog; however, I was surprised to learn that the United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not require a minimum number of paid vacation days or holidays for workers, thus winning it the dubious title of “No-Vacation Nation” from the Center for Economic and Policy Research.  Furthermore, nearly one in four US workers do not receive any paid vacation or holidays as a part of their workplace benefits programs. As a result, the average American ends up with just 9 days of paid time off, less than the average worker in Japan, the country with the next lowest government mandated paid holiday time of 10 days.

At the other extreme, however, a small handful of US employers are experimenting with vacation policies that some may find hard to fathom, namely unlimited paid leave.  The pioneer in this movement was Netflix, and the apparent success of the program has inspired enough copycats that this year 1% of companies reported to World at Work that they offer unlimited paid leave.  “But how do these companies function at all?” one might ask when hearing about their liberal vacation policies.  Well, the CEO of one such company reports that none of her employees seem to be taking any more vacation than they did under a more traditional vacation program, and the benefits of the new policy seem to include an improvement in morale and productivity. 

Of course, it is up to each employer to determine the vacation policy that makes the most sense for their particular situation, while at the same time recognizing the importance of vacation to the health and productivity of their employees.  Additionally, vacation can prove to be a valuable recruiting tool when trying to attract the best talent.  With maintaining productivity and morale, and finding qualified candidates among the top three challenges HR Managers say they are facing in the next 6 months, a well thought out vacation policy can go a long way to helping with those challenges. And once the optimal vacation policy for your workplace has been agreed upon, make sure to let prospective employees know about it on your Career Websites, because you can be certain that they will be looking.  Mahalo, a hui hou.