Dividing holidays over the whole year increases worker productivity

The Spanish Workers' Statute guarantees a minimum of 30 days holiday a year and states that the dates will be agreed mutually between the company and its employees. For decades, the decision was to close the company for a whole month for holidays, turning cities into virtual ghost towns during August. However, according to Aran, this is no longer happening. The reasons? “Because of globalization, which has meant that many companies stay open all year round to stay competitive, or because of the high prices during the high season”, she explains. Other factors are the economic crisis and the fact that the immigrant population waits for the low season to visit their families in their countries of origin.

This change of habit benefits both companies and workers. “Human resources specialists have observed that people are more productive when they take time off to relax at different times during the year and that the people who have taken the whole month off find it harder to get back up to speed”, the professor explains.

10% of the population are workaholics

But are these shorter breaks enough to disconnect from work? A number of surveys maintain that most workers take a week to put their job out of their minds. A study performed by the job portal Randstad goes one step further and asserts that 28% of Spanish workers admit that they are unable to disconnect from work during their holidays. This percentage is above the European average, which stands at 25%.

“Putting aside what the studies say, the fact is that there are people who disconnect from day one and others who are unable to do it at all”, Aran clarifies. The latter are usually people who are addicted to their work, the so-called workaholics. “They have a cognitive dissonance, that is, inside their heads they have two consistent but contradictory thoughts: on one hand, they feel stressed because they're not working and, on the other hand, they know they need to disconnect”, Aran says.  According to the professor, they are usually people who are unable to replace work tasks with others that are completely unrelated with work. “Their work keeps them active and when they have to go on holiday, it's almost as if they lose their identity and they feel very uncomfortable”, the professor points out.

10% of the population are workaholics. The typical profile is male, 35–55 years old, with average or slightly above-average education. In women and young people, the percentage is lower. “There is a correlation between the person's level of education and the difficulty they have in disconnecting, and also with the job's importance or level of responsibility”, she continues.  The sociocultural environment, the inculcation of certain values (hard work, commitment, responsibility, etc.) and technology heighten this inability to disconnect.

Some tips for how to disconnect from work

Aran thinks that the concept of “disconnecting” will gradually disappear as an antonym to the concept of work. “More and more companies are concerned about their employees' happiness and welfare and the new generations demand work environments where they can not only grow professionally but also personally. Accordingly, the dividing line between professional and personal life becomes blurred and, in many cases, the idea of fixed working hours becomes meaningless”, she explains. Aran believes that the true ability to disconnect is between one task and the next or between one moment and the next rather than disconnecting for long periods.

Whatever the term used or the holiday mix chosen, there are a number of guidelines that help one forget about work during holidays:

Before going on holiday:

• Don't leave any loose ends.
• Hold a team meeting so that the work can continue while you're away.
• Delegate (and trust), with precise instructions, the tasks that cannot wait until you come back.

During the holiday:

• Plan activities, preferably in a group.
• Practice sport daily so that your mind is concentrated on your exercise and your body.
• Turn off your mobile phone when you are doing activities, especially if you are with other people.
• Avoid the professional social media.
• Do not open your email. Post an automatic message saying that you are on holiday, giving the day you start work again and the person who can be contacted in the meantime if there are any urgent matters.
• Shun any computer that might tempt you.