I got so into this, looking at holiday pics, man happy days! And this from someone that totally loves their job…
What the hell is the point in limitless holidays; if your team, or you, don’t take them and switch off entirely?
Big news today.
So Goldman is trying to attract top performers, using a perk they know will not be used (Data shows that in the US, those with limitless holidays take two days less each year). Worse, what difference does it make if you answer emails every day?
Now back in the day, I remember being on my BlackBerry (ironically, I worked for the company that destroyed holidays for us all, the manufacturer of BlackBerry – RIM) all day, every day on holiday. As MEA Head of Finance for the fastest growing Tech company in the world, soon to “have a bit of bother”, it was a crazy time.
But it doesn’t make sense.
Statistically, taking more vacations results in greater success at work and lower stress, and more happiness at work and home. (1)
It’s just dumb to ignore the science. More time off increases, not reduces performance. If your people are well rested and take more time off, you will be more likely to keep them and hit your targets. It’s a fact!
If you don’t believe me read this…
Having put into practice the themes that would become the “Three P’s of Creating Thriving Cultures”, my effectiveness had increased. My teams were high-performing, I trusted them, and most importantly, they trusted themselves.
Although a CFO and Head of Sales with a headcount in the hundreds during the final two summers of my corporate career, I had:
THREE WEEK holiday.
ZERO read emails.
ONE phone call.
How did I do it?
1. Build up empowerment over time by being a coach-like manager.
2. Define what a crisis was with the team, and write it down.
3. Clarify how they could contact me in a crisis – by phone call only.
4. Align with my team that I would not read ANY emails, texts, Slack or Whatsapp.
5. Turn off, log out and disconnect, and not read any emails.
Whatever you think about limitless holidays, there is no point if your people are not switching off!
References
- 1. The Data-Driven Case for Vacation – Havard Business Review – Achor & Gielen.
