Chad Price, MAKO Medical CEO, Explains The Health-Based Benefits of Time Off

89% of workers have experienced burnout in the past year, according to recent research. The endless pressure to perform in a high-stress environment can have serious implications for an individual’s health. Stress has been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes, among other health complaints. With that in mind, it’s important that professionals are able to find a sense of balance in their working life. 

Chad Price, MAKO Medical Laboratories CEO, is a leader in the health and research industry. At the forefront of the nationally recognized testing and research laboratories, he is a true expert in the field. Since launching the business back in 2014, the company has gone from strength to strength. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the enterprise more than doubled in size and now has a staff of over 1,000 dedicated workers. Inc. Magazine has also recognized MAKO Medical as one of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies.

One of the fundamental visions of the business is supporting the staff and ensuring that they are at the peak of health. The team has implemented a variety of initiatives to ensure that the workers are always protected. If you are a manager, it’s always worth looking at ways in which you can improve the state of your workplace for the professionals and your team. In the following article, Chad Price, MAKO Medical Laboratories CEO, offers his expertise on the countless health-based benefits of workers having more time off. 

Time Off Leads to Increased Movement 

When we talk about workers having more leisure time, one of the things that is most often cited is their mental health. While, of course, having more down time leads to less stress, there’s another, less obvious advantage that we sometimes fail to consider. Research from the University of South Australia recently found that workers had increased movement directly after a vacation. Their physical activity levels were higher during this exact period. 

Since leading a sedentary lifestyle is detrimental to all areas of a person’s physical health, this is an interesting finding. It suggests that people are less likely to sit at their desks for hours on end when they have recently returned from a break. As you may already know, many managers look for ways in which to increase physical activity among their workforce. Sedentary jobs typically have higher rates of chronic health conditions, such as obesity. 

Workers Are More Productive After a Break

If you’re looking for a way to ensure that your team members are more productive, offering them more time off may seem counterintuitive. However, thanks to the countless health-based benefits of having time off, this savvy move may help you to increase the overall efficiency of your workforce. Research published in the National Library of Medicine suggests that having vacation days leads to less exhaustion and higher productivity levels.

If you’re concerned that your staff members are not reaching their full potential, the reason may be down to burnout. When professionals are overworked, they likely find it difficult to reach their ongoing targets. That is because they have not given their mind nor their body the appropriate time to rest and relax. As a manager, it is important to do everything you can to support your staff members’ needs in any way that you can. That may mean encouraging your team to take their allocated time off and even rewarding them for it. 

Having Some Time Out Lowers Stress Levels 

Of course, one of the biggest ways that employees will benefit from having some time off is lowering their stress levels. When chronic stress builds, it can lead to a wide variety of health complaints. As we have already covered, this can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, and other problems. In the long run, these issues can negatively impact your workers’ quality of life. If you want to take care of their wellness, you need to change tack. 

Choosing to offer regular time off can help lower their stress levels and even changes the way that they cope with stress. If you work in a high-pressure sector, you may find that your team members often struggle with their stress. That can be a problem for both them and the business. However, you can get around this problem by giving them the time and space to unwind outside of work. That may mean offering more days off on an annual basis. Alternatively, you could also look at ways to increase the flexibility that they have.

Vacations Lead to Improved Well-Being

Whenever you’re trying to manage a large staff, you need to consider their overall well-being. This aspect of their lifestyle will impact their wellness and how they perform in the workplace. One of the most interesting studies on the matter suggests that vacations lead to fulfilment, happiness, and improved well-being. All of the above means that you are likely to have more pleasant staff members who are more engaged when they are at work. 

Taking regular vacations gives people the chance to separate their work life from their home life. The refreshment that this type of break provides cannot be overstated. You are giving each of them the chance to create some physical distance from their day job. That in itself can do wonders for a person’s mental health. When the staff member returns to work, they will have a positive attitude that reverberates through everything they do. For that reason, it is never a bad business move to offer people more paid time off. 

Conclusion

If you are in a managerial position, it is important to make sure that you look after your workers in every aspect of their life. Ensuring that they take an adequate amount of vacation days is one of the simplest ways you can achieve this goal. Work alongside your team members to ensure that they have all that they need from you in this area. If the policy is unclear, you may need to both revise and reiterate it to your team.