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Why You Should Take Annual Leave during the Pandemic

why you should take annual leaves during pandemic

As many employees hunker down and work from home and others continue working in the offices to make ends meet amid the pandemic, the idea of taking leave has been put on the back burner.

The pandemic has created a volatile work environment, forcing workers to take little or no time off since the COVID-19 outbreak.

While many people have been putting in extra hours to bring the bacon home amid the economic challenges caused by the pandemic, there are several good reasons to take a break.

We will find out about them in this post.

1. Reduces Stress

Workplace stress has been known to cause depression, increased blood pressure, headaches, and reduced work performance.

The effects of increased stress could get worse if you do not take time off from work. Taking time off reduces stress levels, giving you a rejuvenated sense of purpose and boosting productivity.

2. Enhances Mood

The Wisconsin Medical Journal published an article stating that those who take annual leave twice or more per year are less depressed and dissatisfied with their work.

Taking a breather from your workload and deadline pressures and going on a vacation or spending time with loved ones does a whole lot to elevate your mood.

3. Increases Overall Well-Being

Whether you are a remote worker or an office worker, your performance is integral to the organisation’s progress.

Being always on the job is a sure-fire way to decline your work performance. That’s why managers or HR departments should make sure their employees take annual leave.

Even managers should take breaks during the pandemic if they haven’t already. Every staffer needs time off to get themselves together and have renewed energy to execute their assigned obligations.

4. Adheres to Government Regulations

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, different governments have been initiated lockdown regulations to contain the spread of the virus.

One lockdown rule is that some businesses have to close. While this might be unsettling for the company, it is an opportunity for managers to allow their employees to take a rest.

More so, closing down will prevent the company from having run-ins with the law.

Even if the employees should be working from home, management should conduct regular check-ins to assess their well-being, and leadership should offer their employees time off.

5. Allows Workers to Be with Their Families

Annual leave presents an opportunity to take a break from the workplace and be with your loved ones. Due to the pandemic, many have been able to spend more quality time with their families.

In the long run, this has led to increased bonding and happiness.

Taking annual leave during the pandemic will enable you to spend more time with your family, become increasingly happy, get to know your family better, and enhance bonding.

The effects of spending quality time with your family can be carried over to the workplace, enhancing your performance.

6. Helps Solve Problems

Annual leave during the pandemic can be seen as problem-solving among a team.

Team members who work for managers who think employees need to skip breaks to keep the business operation going are more likely to run into a rut when brainstorming problem-solving ideas.

A change of routine by taking a break can arm employees with new experiences that can be pivotal in influencing them to creatively solve problems.

Managers should always consider the benefit of taking a break if they want to overcome challenges creatively and efficiently.

7. Minimises Absenteeism

Workplace stress can lead to health issues. When this happens, many workers call in sick. To prevent this from happening, they must take their annual leave.

8. Allows Employees to Learn New Skills

Taking a break from work during the pandemic presents an ideal opportunity to upskill. Upskilling is important in the dynamic business world.

You can learn skills that are needed in various aspects of the business. There may not be a better opportunity than during your annual leave.

All in All

There you have it! Everybody needs a break from work to relax, and employees are entitled to time off from the workplace. This time off is for their benefit and that of the business organisation.

Attendance apps and HR apps like EasyWork come with powerful features, such as attendance systems that allow employers to accept or reject employees’ annual leave applications online, record their attendance on the cloud, and retrieve the information anytime.

On the other hand, employees can apply for their annual leave online and check-in and check-out of work online with just a few taps.

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