Canadian HR Reporter

N E W S 12 www.hrreporter.com Should employers be paying employees to take time off? A growing number of employers — discouraged by having burned-out and disengaged workers — are looking to get people out of the office by offering vacation bonuses or a vacation savings plan, finds John Dujay planned in some cases, according to Reynolds. "When you get an unlimited vacation policy, there is almost a hesitancy among employees to actually take their time because there's no limit and so employees actually feel a little bit more nervous about taking that time," she says. "That's really the opposite of what companies were trying to do when they offered unlimited vacation." As an alternative, Toronto-based Vacation Fund offers employers a savings plan for employees, which is matched by employers, to save for yearly vacation trips. Employers such as Willful, Zoom.ai and PureFacts in Toronto have decided to offer the fund. "It illustrates to our candidates and employees that we care about their personal renewal, encourage them to recharge, and that we are pretty cool and cutting edge," says Andrea Boileau, director of people operations at PureFacts Financial Solutions, in a testimonial. When asked what prevents them from going on vacation, 50 per cent of people say they're saving but they don't have the budget, while the other 50 per cent say they're hesitant to take time away from work, says Erica Pearson, CEO at Vacation Fund. "Regardless of your age or your gender or your income bracket or your marital status or your stage of life, everyone guaranteed that employees get a much- needed holiday, and BambooHR ensures the money is put to good use, u n like m a ny b o n u ses o r o ther company gifts." The trend seems to be growing in popularity, according to online job search firm FlexJobs in Boston, which discovered 14 companies in its database of employers that offer to pay for vacations as an employee benefit. " They want to encourage their employees to actually take their vacation," says Brie Reynolds, career development manager at FlexJobs. " They're making it harder for the employees to say no or to not think about going on vacation. "This is a very tangible perk that really sticks in people's mind a little bit more than some of the perks that we've seen over the last 15 or 20 years, like ping pong tables and unlimited snacks," she says. Companies such as projec t- management software provider Basecamp provide 16 vacation packages, worth between US$4,000 and US$5,000, while travel booking company Travelzoo provides employees US$1,500 and three additional days off per year. Other options for employees While unlimited time off has cropped up as a trend at some companies recently as a way to force workers out of the office, this didn't work out as should be able to take some time off at some point." HR should study vacation habits before coming up with specific ways to encourage time off. "What is the situation at your company? That really helps you figure out what the solutions would be to remedy whatever the data tells you," says Reynolds. "If it is that you offer people three weeks of vacation time a year, but really it looks like people on average take one- and-a-half weeks, maybe you decide to switch to a minimum policy." For HR, it's important to be thoughtful about polic y de tails, says Whitlock. "Don't create unnecessary red tape around utilizing time off. This includes managers to avoid inconsistency messaging and policy application," she says. "Consider staffing needs and how you can cover work getting done when someone is out on vacation." Vacation shaming a challenge There are several other factors that prevent workers from taking time off, says Reynolds. NORTH A m e r i c a n w o r ke r s a r e notorious for not taking full advantage of yearly vacation. One solution? Employers actually paying people to take time off. O n e U. S .- b a s e d c o m p a ny, f o r example, provides US$2,000 to each employee, once per year, for one trip or experience. "We offer this benefit because we k n o w t h at t a k i n g va c at i o n s i s sometimes exactly what people need to do great work," says Cassie Whitlock, director of HR at BambooHR in Provo, Utah. "By only allowing the money to be put toward a vacation, it 's CAN VACATION HELP CANADIAN WORKERS' MENTAL HEALTH? Sources: Robert Half, Canada Life, Expedia 9% Percentage of Canadian workers taking more than 21 days off each year 30% Percentage of STD and LTD claims for mental health issues 70% Percentage of disability payments for mental health issues 54% Percentage of Canadians who feel vacation-deprived

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