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A holiday portrait of Poles: holidays abroad, on promotion and with savings
Vacation is a time of rest long-awaited by employees, but also beneficial for employers, whose interest is in ensuring that employees return to their duties with renewed energy.
We need a vacation so that we can function healthily. It improves life satisfaction[1] and increases well-being[2]. It is also associated with a sense of happiness and positive emotions, as well as reducing negative emotions and stress – lists the benefits Magdalena Marszałek, a psychologist from SWPS University in Sopot.
– By definition, leave is, first of all, a release from everyday exposure to the demands of work. Second, it is engaging in valued, non-work-related activities of your choice. In other words, we regenerate by (temporarily) freeing ourselves from professional challenges and focusing on pleasant activities of our choice. This regeneration provides resources that are necessary for optimal functioning, says Magdalena Marszałek, a psychologist from SWPS University.
As researchers postulate[3], in order to cope with various challenges at work, we need resources (mental and physical), which naturally deplete. And an exhausted employee, with relatively few resources, works much less effectively than when he has the optimal amount of them. These resources serve us, among others: to cope with stress – if we don't have them, we don't have the tools to effectively reduce the stress level. In such a situation, the so-called battery recharging; and this is what a vacation can provide. It is not worth ignoring the symptoms of exhaustion: numerous studies show that if we are exhausted for a long time – we have reduced resources and high demands at work – this can lead to burnout. Vacation is one of the factors that can prevent this.
One longer and several shorter ones
According to research[4], the level of well-being increases dynamically during holidays, only to drop to the pre-holiday state a few or a dozen days after returning. This regularity applies to longer (i.e. 9-day on average) and shorter (approx. 4-day) holidays. You also need to take into account that we usually need a "moment" to break away from the work mode and enter the rest mode.
– In my opinion, the best solution is one longer vacation, e.g. two weeks, and several shorter ones, e.g. three or four days. Thanks to this, we will improve our well-being several times a year and have more opportunities to "recharge the batteries". While shorter holidays can be very beneficial, a longer one will allow us to travel, change the environment, and reach sources of positive emotions unavailable in the place where we function on a daily basis. This will make the increased sense of well-being last not for a few, but for several days – explains Magdalena Marszałek. – The psychologist emphasizes that although our well-being returns to its pre-holiday state quite quickly, it absolutely does not mean that it is not worth taking a vacation. – Thanks to holidays, we increase our resources and allow ourselves to regenerate. Charging the battery is very important, he adds.
Although vacation is beneficial to us, some scientists indicate that extending it does not maximize the benefits[5]. Although this hypothesis still needs to be confirmed by research, it may be better, instead of taking more than three weeks of vacation, to save days for additional, shorter rest, which will again improve our well-being.
Provide yourself with positive emotions
– For a vacation to fulfill its function, it is not enough to just stop working. It is also important to provide ourselves with activities that we value and like, and which are not related to our profession, but can provide us with positive emotions – explains an expert from SWPS University.
For everyone, these desired classes and activities may mean something different, e.g. active recreation, sunbathing, pursuing a hobby, time spent with friends, contact with nature.
It's good to go away during your vacation, change your surroundings, disconnect from the environment in which we function every day and which we may associate with work and responsibilities. However, there is no universal recipe for everyone. It happens that someone is so stressed by the process of leaving or traveling by plane that it takes away all the joy. Therefore, it is very important for everyone to be aware of what increases their stress level and consciously avoid uncomfortable situations during their holidays.
– It is not the best idea to take a vacation – in the context of recharging the battery – to devote it to, for example, dealing with matters in offices or renovation, especially if someone is not a fan of DIY and does it out of economic necessity. – We will use a lot of resources for this, so it may turn out that we will return to work unrested. Additionally, during such activities we will probably not get a flow of positive emotions. If we do not engage in activities we like during our vacation, there will be no element that builds our well-being – comments Magdalena Marszałek.
The expert recommends contact with nature, which provides us with positive emotions and reduces tension. Green – nature also makes us less stimulated and therefore we use less energy.
There are studies[6] that show that just four days spent in nature, cut off from social media, make us more creative and better able to focus our attention. After these four days, our mind calms down and rests enough that our cognitive abilities improve, says a psychologist from SWPS University.
Set boundaries at work
It is also important to really disconnect from work during your vacation. This has been confirmed by research[7], which shows that rest interrupted by work is ineffective. The expert recommends turning off notifications about work emails and chat messages on your phone while you are away. If we have a separate business phone, should we put it aside while on vacation? Thanks to this, we will be able to calm down and rest better.
– As employees, we have the right to rest, this is not the good will of the employer. So he shouldn't disturb our vacation without a really important reason. However, you need to set boundaries in advance, which may be difficult if for years you have accepted calls from your boss during your free time – points out Magdalena Marszałek.
Calm preparation and comfortable return
The so-called social support, i.e. support from colleagues and superiors. In this case, it involves having someone take over our responsibilities, at least the current ones, during our vacation. For example, if we are responsible for invoices, the deputy should take care of their settlement and not just collect them. Of course, there are things that only we can do. However, the latter should be stopped for the duration of our vacation. Thanks to this, we won't have to think about things that will have to be made up after returning.
– It is also a good idea to plan your work before your vacation so that you can finish various matters and not finish them on the last day late in the evening. Of course, this is not always possible, sometimes something unforeseen comes up at the last minute. To protect yourself against this, you can plan your departure a day later, e.g. not on Saturday, but on Sunday. This will give us time to get ready, pack and calmly prepare for the holidays – says Magdalena Marszałek.
A similar tactic can also be used when returning. Finish your trip the day before to have time to unpack, do laundry, finish the rest phase and get back to work.
– It is important – as scientists emphasize[8] – not to be exposed to very high demands at work on the first day after the holiday. It is worth taking care of this before your departure and not, for example, arranging a meeting with a key client for Monday morning, i.e. immediately after your return. Otherwise, we will very quickly lose the good mood that comes from the holiday and we will be overwhelmed with responsibilities – emphasizes the psychologist.
What else can you do to extend your post-holiday well-being? Researchers suggest[9] that it is good to activate holiday experiences in your mind, e.g. share your impressions with friends or show photos to colleagues. Remembering the good times will lift our mood again for a bit.
1Nawijn, J., Veenhoven, R. (2011). The Effect of Leisure Activities on Life Satisfaction: The Importance of Holiday Trips. In I. Brdar (Ed.), The Human Pursuit of Well-Being (pp. 39–53). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1375-8_4
2Speth, F., Wendsche, J., Wegge, J. (2023). We Continue to Recover Through Vacation!: Meta-Analysis of Vacation Effects on Well-Being and Its Fade-Out. European Psychologist, 28(4), 274–287. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000518
3E.g. theory of demands – job resources; Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E. (2007). The Job Demands-Resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940710733115
4De Bloom, J., Geurts, S., Kompier, M. (2010). Vacation from work as prototypical recovery opportunity. Gedrag & Organisatie, 23(4). https://doi.org/10.5117/2010.023.004.005
5Speth, F., Wendsche, J., Wegge, J. (2023). We Continue to Recover Through Vacation!: Meta-Analysis of Vacation Effects on Well-Being and Its Fade-Out. European Psychologist, 28(4), 274–287. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000518
6Atchley, R. A., Strayer, D. L., Atchley, P. (2012). Creativity in the Wild: Improving Creative Reasoning through Immersion in Natural Settings. PLoS ONE, 7(12), e51474. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0051474
7Altunel, M. C., Çakır, O., Akova, O. (2017). The Relationships Between Social Support by the Colleagues, Work-Holiday Interference, Recovery Experience and Holiday Satisfaction. R. Efe, R. Penkova… & J. G. Berdenov (Eds.), Developments in Social Sciences, 595–612. https://www.researchgate.net/
8De Bloom, J., Geurts, S., Kompier, M. (2010). Vacation from work as prototypical recovery opportunity. Gedrag & Organisatie, 23(4). https://doi.org/10.5117/2010.023.004.005
9De Bloom, J., Geurts, S., Kompier, M. (2010). Vacation from work as prototypical recovery opportunity. Gedrag & Organisatie, 23(4).
