Cure for Office Burnout: Mini Sabbaticals - Article Example

In Europe, a three-week vacation is normal but workers in America are not keen on even taking a week off much less a three-week vacation.
Employers however are encouraging tenured employees to take a vacation by giving them incentives ranging from $750 to $1,000. The idea was to avoid being burned out at work and to reduce work-related stress.

Effects upon business:
Nobody will disagree that everybody needs to rest and have a break at some point. Studies have shown as indicated in the article that employees who unplug from work reduce the risk of being burned out and reduce work-related stress. But having a mandatory long break in a business setting where long breaks are not typically taken may hurt the operations and bottom line of a business which is not desirable, particularly at this time when companies are still in the process of recovery from a long period of recession during the 2008 financial crisis.

Employees having long vacations will leave the business understaffed and a business that is not used to being undermanned may have a hard time adjusting and this may affect the company’s competitiveness. Having fewer tenured staff around meant that the inexperienced employees have to step up and this could make the business under its optimal performance could leave many customers dissatisfied thus undermining the competitiveness of the business.

The timing of implementing sabbaticals or long vacation is also a suspect. It raises the question of whether employers can afford to give their employees long vacations and to top it, with an incentive that goes with it. It is only recently that companies have recovered from the crisis and most companies may not yet have a deep reservoir of resources to send their employees on a long vacation.

The efficacy of the sabbatical program is also doubtful in the American context who have the penchant for working long as the “work martyr complex” is already part of the American psyche. Instead of making its employees relax, they may even feel guilty about taking long vacations making the proposed sabbatical program ineffective. It has to be remembered that America just came from a recession where millions lost their jobs, homes, and savings, and taking a long day off may not be a good idea when they are still in the process of getting their finances back in order. Read More