NEW EVIDENCE ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF HOLIDAYS

Going on holiday has more advantages than originally meets the eye. There are advantages for employers too when their employees go on holiday. Research programmes in the Netherlands and the USA have shown that people who take frequent holidays are even less likely to develop diseases and tend to live longer.

We have all heard the phrase, used about taking holidays:  “to recharge the batteries”. According to researches of the University of Pittsburgh"s Mind-Body Center and Radboud University in the Netherlands, this is merely one of many advantages related to taking a break from the hustle and bustle of the office.
People who take regular holidays are almost always more relaxed, weigh less, have lower blood pressure and gain more satisfaction from life. It has been noted that the “feel good” factor whilst on holiday indeed disappears upon return to the office, yet this is inevitable and cannot be viewed as a disadvantage to taking a holiday.
The research in Pittsburgh did little to promote American culture. Americans have a reputation for often embracing unhealthy lifestyles and being overweight and the university has blamed some of this on the lack of holiday time. Whereas Europeans get a minimum of 20 days per year holiday time, Americans are usually guaranteed around 12. Similarly, some Americans don’t take holidays at all. This is a great minus point for the American work ethic.
It is true that wealthier people tend to take more holidays and be healthier anyway, yet the coincidence is far too big to ignore the positives of going on holiday.
What more, spending more time with the family is a well-known spiritual plus. A change of environment is also very beneficial to the brain and the thinking process, leading to new innovation and thoughts of inspiration. The research in the Netherlands also threw up the interesting notion that employees tend to be more keen on getting things done before escaping somewhere on holiday. Certainly food for thought for employers.