The business case for taking vacations

Walking through the narrow streets of Venice, Italy, with a takeaway pizza in my hand, I was surrounded by tourists.

Yes, my family and I were among the thousands flocking to Europe this summer as part of the pent-up post-pandemic travel demand.

No, we were not among the tourists behaving badly you may have heard about, such as the young man from the UK who carved his and his girlfriend’s initials into the Colosseum. In fact, although it was busy, we didn’t encounter any trouble at all. Even our flights to and from Detroit Metro Airport were on time and without incident.

I didn’t mind sharing the streets and canals of Venice with so many others. It is such an enchanting place, especially for a first-time visitor, I was too caught up in the sights and sounds of this Old World locale to be bothered by the fact that I was sharing it with so many others.

It was the same with Rome, where we walked inside the Colosseum under perfect blue skies. And the Cinque Terre villages along the Italian Riviera, where rock jumpers plunged into the clear waters of the Ligurian Sea.

Italy had been on our radar since the first summer of the pandemic when we longed to get away but it was much less practical to do so, let alone the travel restrictions at the time.

While it felt long overdue, the timing of this respite was spot on.

A survey of U.S. workers by the Pew Research Center released this spring found that nearly half do not take all of the paid time off their employer offers. The top reasons include not feeling they need more time, worrying they might fall behind on the job and feeling badly about co-workers taking on additional work.

As one who has been guilty of leaving PTO on the table, these Pew survey findings resonate with me.

There is plenty of research that shows the benefits of taking time off from work to relax and recharge. A much-cited Harvard Business Review article from 2016 titled, “The Data-Driven Case for Vacation,” notes: “Statistically, taking more vacations results in greater success at work as well as lower stress and more happiness at work and home.”

As a journalist, I’ve long believed that vacations involving travel have the added benefit of opening our eyes to new places, experiencing different cultures and appreciating other perspectives. Of course, this is true for everyone, but for journalists whose job it is to experience our surroundings and do our best to make sense of it for others, travel plays to those instincts and senses.

Whether it’s two weeks overseas or a weekend Up North, having the opportunity to get away and recharge is important. Personally, I’m ready to get back to work, feeling refreshed and ready to go. That said, another benefit of taking time off is having the space to dream about a future excursion. I’ll admit to doing some poking around online already.

How much is a flight to Buenos Aires?