Summer is in full swing and it’s not too late to take some time to enjoy the season. Whether you take the morning or afternoon off, a day or two, or the entire week, time away from work offers benefits for you and your employer. While surveys show paid time off is more important to employees than many other benefits, millions of Americans are not taking advantage of this benefit. When I wrote a blog a few years ago, I was shocked to learn a 2018 U.S. Travel Association survey found American workers had 768 million days of unused vacation!

As someone who has NEVER lost a day of vacation, I have a hard time understanding why someone would not use their time! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my job and I get along well with my co-workers and colleagues, and sometimes I just NEED a day off! I realize not everyone is fortunate enough to work for a company who offers vacation, sick, holiday, or some other form of paid time off. This presents challenges for folks to take time away from work due to lost wages, fear of losing their job, and possible lack of support from their co-workers and their employer. Many workers feel they have to work even when they are legitimately sick due to these worries.

I have been under a fair bit of stress this year with building a new house and some work duties that I have chosen to undertake. Up until this past year, I had only ever taken sick time for actual medical procedures for my family or myself and the rare unplanned sick day. This year I have been using my “sick” days to help preserve my mental health. In fact, on Wednesday this week, my daughter took the day off from her summer internship and came home. My mom is back from Florida for the summer and my niece and sister-in-law are off on Wednesdays. They all planned to meet for lunch. Since I hadn’t seen all of them together in almost a year, I decided I to take Wednesday afternoon off to spend the latter part of the day with them. Instead of taking vacation time, I requested “sick” time. Spending time with them was great for my mental health.

Mental health has not historically been something people talked much about, especially in the workplace. Over the past several years, mental health has finally come to the forefront of discussions about overall health and well-being. Some mental health conditions are more debilitating than many physical ones. Much of my daily work relates to health, so I am aware of how much our mental health, or lack there of, can impact our ability to meet expectations and complete our work. I have been struggling with motivation, especially the past few weeks, due to the extra stress in my life this year. I typically don’t feel too overwhelmed or stressed, but this year the stressors have and continue to make me feel this way. I knew taking some time to be with my family would be good for my heart and soul, which in turn would help my mental health, AND it did just that! To be clear, I am fortunate to work for an organization that supports employees caring for all aspects of their health and well-being. My supervisor is also supportive of me using my “sick” time to help me remain well. She models taking time off, and not feeling obligated to “check-in” while away, by letting us know who we can contact for problems or questions while she is out of the office. Again, I know not everyone has this luxury.

So, if you have accumulated paid time off, be sure to plan accordingly to take some time away from work. If you don’t get paid time off, do your best to take some time to care for yourself outside of work. With summer heating things up, get out and enjoy some warm weather activities, or if you prefer cooler temps, plan to use your time in a couple months. Feel free to share your tips for getting away from work.

Written by: Misty Harmon, Extension Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Perry County, harmon.416@osu.edu

Reviewed by: Lisa Barlage, Extension Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Ross County, barlage.7@osu.edu