TM - May 2008 - (Page 28) recruitment & retention assessment & evaluation compensation & benefits performance management learning & development succession planning that come up constantly or consistently. Without time to debrief and get away, repetitive tasks become that much more mundane. People let their energy levels drop, become negative, and that spreads to the workplace.” The mental toll of vacation deprivation on American society is significant. It makes employees tired, which leads to sleep deprivation. Lack of vacation also can increase stress, and stress and fatigue impact productivity. This can hurt the individual, his or her family and relationships, and ultimately, it hurts the quality of employees’ work. “Every employer should provide a total reward statement,” Darling said. “It’s a written document that summarizes everything the employer provides to [the employee], including indirect cash benefits.” Many organizations take expressing the monetary value of vacation time to its logical conclusion and pay employees for vacation time that goes unused. Darling cautioned against this as well. “The whole purpose of vacation is for [employees] to have balance in their lives and stay productive,” she said. “If you’re giving them money for that time, they’re going to be burned out. So it doesn’t help them, and it doesn’t help you.” But Haefner said organizations that pay for vacation time don’t contribute to the problem. “You always have a small percentage of your workforce that sees dollar signs and prefers that over the time, but most people understand the employer is saying, ‘You weren’t able to [take a vacation]. We want to make good on it,’ and that’s a competitive move.” Part of the problem may be that vacation time is not as generously given in America as it is in other countries. Darling said she advocates employees getting a real break from their work, however possible. A vacation doesn’t have to be extravagant; it may just mean taking personal time. “Whether it’s going home to mow the grass or play with your kids, with a physical and mental break that refreshes you, you will actually do a better job than you would if you kept working during that time,” she explained. Forced Fun Talent managers may want to simply encourage employees to take vacations, and then lead by example. “That’s a starting point,” Haefner said. “It sounds kind of basic and cheesy, just saying, ‘Take a vacation,’ but without talent managers being supportive, it’s never going to work. And it’s one of those things where people need someone to model their behavior after. That manager or leader really has to set the example to say, ‘I’m going to be gone for a week. Here are the type of emergencies it’s totally fine to reach out to me on, but I’m really trying to disconnect. That doesn’t mean I’m not available if there’s an emergency, and I still care about you and still want us to win.’” However, Darling cautioned against talent managers making vacation time mandatory. Instead, she said employers should directly express to employees that vacation time is an important part of their compensation, a piece that has a monetary value. Thus, if it’s not used, it has been wasted. But organizations paying out for vacation time can backfire, as it may suggest that the organization is acting in selfinterest. After all, if the monetary value of a day of vacation time is expressed, employees may conclude getting rid of them for a day saves X amount of dollars. However, whether an organization’s choice to pay out vacation time is a bad idea, a competitive move or otherwise, in some states the argument is moot — offering employees the option to be paid for vacation time is required by law. Haefner suggests an alternate arrangement that can avoid many of the pitfalls in other vacation policies. “Some organizations are moving toward systems that are not so time bound,” she said. “[They] are now saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to have this bank of time; it doesn’t expire. Use it when you can, but we want you to use it. That’s why it’s there.’ So they’re not paying out for the balance of time, but they’re letting people roll that over indefinitely.” Millennials on Vacation According to Thomas, the new generation entering the workforce suffers less from the various vacation neuroses related to work ethic and job security. “The younger generation is not putting up with the two weeks of vacation thing as much, or they’re not as hesitant to take vacation time,” he said. “Younger people are saying, ‘You know what? I don’t want to work 52 weeks out of the year. I want to take a couple trips.’” Thomas said this indicates an improvement in how the issue of vacation deprivation is addressed. “It’s heading in the right direction, but we’ve still got a long way to go.” 28 May 2008 talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com http://www.TalentMgt.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - May 2008 Talent Management - May 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Make the Connection: Effective Employee Evaluations Vacation: The Benefit Many Employees Don't Take The Four Pillars of Managing Performance Transform Talent With Deeper Skill Specialization Mentoring's Role in Succession Planning Graybar: Supporting a Long-Term View of Talent Management American Diabetes Association: On a Mission to Improve Employee Health Taking the Talent Pulse: What Drives High Potentials? American Systems Employees Earn a Piece of the Pie Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential TM - May 2008 TM - May 2008 - (Page Intro) TM - May 2008 - Talent Management - May 2008 (Page Cover1) TM - May 2008 - Talent Management - May 2008 (Page Cover2) TM - May 2008 - Talent Management - May 2008 (Page 1) TM - May 2008 - Talent Management - May 2008 (Page 2) TM - May 2008 - Talent Management - May 2008 (Page 3) TM - May 2008 - Editor's Letter (Page 4) TM - May 2008 - Editor's Letter (Page 5) TM - May 2008 - Contents (Page 6) TM - May 2008 - Contents (Page 7) TM - May 2008 - Contents (Page 8) TM - May 2008 - Contents (Page 9) TM - May 2008 - Human Performance (Page 10) TM - May 2008 - Human Performance (Page 11) TM - May 2008 - Leading Edge (Page 12) TM - May 2008 - Leading Edge (Page 13) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 14) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 15) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 16) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 17) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 18) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 19) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 20) TM - May 2008 - Learning Connections (Page 21) TM - May 2008 - Make the Connection: Effective Employee Evaluations (Page 22) TM - May 2008 - Make the Connection: Effective Employee Evaluations (Page 23) TM - May 2008 - Make the Connection: Effective Employee Evaluations (Page 24) TM - May 2008 - Make the Connection: Effective Employee Evaluations (Page 25) TM - May 2008 - Vacation: The Benefit Many Employees Don't Take (Page 26) TM - May 2008 - Vacation: The Benefit Many Employees Don't Take (Page 27) TM - May 2008 - Vacation: The Benefit Many Employees Don't Take (Page 28) TM - May 2008 - Vacation: The Benefit Many Employees Don't Take (Page 29) TM - May 2008 - The Four Pillars of Managing Performance (Page 30) TM - May 2008 - The Four Pillars of Managing Performance (Page 31) TM - May 2008 - The Four Pillars of Managing Performance (Page 32) TM - May 2008 - The Four Pillars of Managing Performance (Page 33) TM - May 2008 - Transform Talent With Deeper Skill Specialization (Page 34) TM - May 2008 - Transform Talent With Deeper Skill Specialization (Page 35) TM - May 2008 - Mentoring's Role in Succession Planning (Page 36) TM - May 2008 - Mentoring's Role in Succession Planning (Page 37) TM - May 2008 - Mentoring's Role in Succession Planning (Page 38) TM - May 2008 - Mentoring's Role in Succession Planning (Page 39) TM - May 2008 - Graybar: Supporting a Long-Term View of Talent Management (Page 40) TM - May 2008 - Graybar: Supporting a Long-Term View of Talent Management (Page 41) TM - May 2008 - American Diabetes Association: On a Mission to Improve Employee Health (Page 42) TM - May 2008 - American Diabetes Association: On a Mission to Improve Employee Health (Page 43) TM - May 2008 - Taking the Talent Pulse: What Drives High Potentials? (Page 44) TM - May 2008 - Taking the Talent Pulse: What Drives High Potentials? (Page 45) TM - May 2008 - Taking the Talent Pulse: What Drives High Potentials? (Page 46) TM - May 2008 - Taking the Talent Pulse: What Drives High Potentials? (Page 47) TM - May 2008 - American Systems Employees Earn a Piece of the Pie (Page 48) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page 49) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page 50) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page 51) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page 52) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page Cover3) TM - May 2008 - Editorial Resources (Page Cover4)
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