Those aren’t the most dedicated workers; but they could be the most frustrated
Implied and assumed expectations about taking time off from work can significantly effect employee engagement, according to a new survey.
Nearly half (46 percent) of employees report they check in occasionally when taking personal time off. Smaller percentages log in frequently (27 percent) or entirely unplug (27 percent) from communicating with colleagues.
Employees who are pressured by their boss to stay in contact in when they’re out of the office feel less valued, less cared about and that their job is less important than employees whose employer encourages taking time off from work.
Managers don’t have to explicitly tell employees to be available at all times to have a negative effect. Given that just 14 percent of managers and seven percent of senior leadership members unplug during personal time off, employees may get a sense they’re expected to stay in contact when they’re taking time off from work, as well.
In addition to engagement, pressuring employees to check in when they’re taking time off can potentially also affect retention. Two in five employees (40 percent) at companies with a culture that suggests workers should stay in contact when they’re out of the office say they’re looking or planning to look for a new job in the next year. Just one-in-five (21 percent) of employees at organizations with a culture that supports personal time off say the same.
For more about the effect company policies about taking time off from work can have, read this press release from the Project: Time Off initiative.