We all need to disconnect from our job once and a while to stay happy. However, many Americans don’t take their earned time off out of fear their boss will see them as replaceable or unmotivated. They’re also afraid of the mountain of work waiting for them when they return.
If our employees don’t take the time to explore their other passions or spend time with their families, they experience burnout, depression, and overall dissatisfaction with their jobs.
An effective leave management policy can help reduce these outcomes. Here’s how.
Without an effective employee leave tracker, policy, or system, employees are at risk of burnout.
A Gallup study featuring 7,500 employees reported that 23% of them feel burnout at work always, while 44% feel burnout sometimes. That means that 67% (or 2/3) of American employees are currently feeling burnout at their full-time jobs at least some of the time.
Burnout isn’t a “part of the job” or a result of hard work. Work-associated burnout almost always results from unreasonable time pressure, lack of managerial support, unmanageable workloads, lack of role clarity, and unfair treatment. These are managerial issues, not employee issues.
Based on the Gallup study, burnout leads to employees:
Employees who aren’t showing up for work often or experience a reduction in productivity are likely burnt out. Rarely are employees refusing to work because they’re unmotivated or lazy.
If employees were able to take more vacation days, they’d contribute to a happier and more productive workforce. Paid time off facilitated with good leave management policies increases family ties, and productivity. You can also improve employee retention and reduce health care expenses.
Whether you use a leave management system or a knowledgeable HR paper trail to facilitate your time off requests, employees and employers will benefit from higher productivity because:
An effective leave management system helps reduce face-to-face time-off negotiations that stress employees and encourage them to avoid taking their vacations. A transparent system increases employee satisfaction, saves time, and reduces unexplained absenteeism.
Employees who know they’re receiving fair and proper leaves are more likely to trust their managers and employers. On the other hand, poor leave management leads to resentment. Especially if employees have to take on more work when their co-workers aren’t around.
With a companion desktop or phone app, employees can see how much leave time they have left or where they absolutely cannot take planned vacations. Employers can then ensure priority work is taken care of ahead of time. Either by cross-training employees or with contractors.
12 US states have legislated paid sick leave and/or paid time off. Most states give workers 1 hour of PTO for every 30-87 hours worked. By making sure your employees get the right amount of paid leave they’re entitled to, you’ll build a culture of trust, respect, and hard work.
Leave management software specifically frees up 28 hours per week of company time. However, these stats are just for small businesses. The more employees you have, the more time HR will spend facilitating time off requests. Which can reduce productivity and overall cash flow.
A leave management system that integrates with shift scheduling, timesheets, and performance metric tools will give you the best chance of scaling your organization in the long term.
