Out of Office – The Importance of Taking a Break
Workspaces
It’s funny how holidays are still perceived as a luxury for the few, and not a human necessity for the many. There is now mounting evidence that a staycation, a trip abroad, or just some time off at home is a major key to employees’ overall wellbeing and a contributing factor to company productivity.
And yet, there are thousands of hours’ worth of unclaimed leave, hours which could have restored you not just as an individual, but also as an employee or an employer. In the current hustling culture, we’ve almost come to revere states of exhaustion, as if it’s the default condition of a pre- and post- pandemic world.
But it is our duty of care, both to ourselves and to our employees, to prescribe leisurely time away from the workspace. Stepping back from the daily grind allows us to take in foreign surroundings… that don’t involve a desk or a laptop. This in turn can inspire us as workers to return to the office with dynamic solutions and fresh ideas. It’ll also improve your conversation skills, as you’ll have something interesting to talk about!
Overworked employees presage burnout, heightened levels of stress and a general malaise in the workspace. Exploring the outside world rouses your productivity and nips job dissatisfaction in the bud. So, remember to give yourself an excuse to use that out-of-office reply, and use it wisely.