How a Staff Vacation Planner Can Prevent Burnout | BrightHR Canada

Employee overwhelmed with workload sat at desk

First published on Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Last updated on Friday, December 13, 2024

Burnout can be a major cause of staff absences, as well as a range of other emotional symptoms and behavioral changes at work. While burnout is the result of a range of factors, taking a break from work can be beneficial to reducing the negative impact it can have.

Thankfully, vacation time is available for all employees in Canada, so they have some time off work to relax and disconnect from their workplace responsibilities, contributing to a positive workplace culture.

Read on to discover how a staff vacation planner can help you manage and prevent burnout in the workplace.

How to manage employee vacation time

In the age of automation, workplace management is almost completely digitalized which comes with many benefits for employers and employees. This includes everything from making small admin tasks easier to simplifying more complex business management processes.

This change can be seen in all areas of modern businesses especially in the HR world, as there’s a significant shift towards using HR software, especially in small businesses.

One of the time saving features of an HR software that can be invaluable to a business is a staff vacation planner. More small business owners and employers now rely on such features to plan their team’s time off as they make the entire process more seamless and provide real time calculations of their entire team’s vacation entitlements, how much time off they’ve taken and how many vacation days they have left.

These days, approving, and managing vacation requests is easier than ever. With a total oversight of your team’s vacation time, you can see who is taking their paid vacation allowance and which employees may be in need of a well-deserved break.

The importance of vacation time in preventing burnout

Research indicates taking vacation time helps to reduce feelings of stress, the number of sick days in a workplace, improves business productivity, and can even contribute to reducing staff turnover.

Recharging and resting are the some of best ways to renew levels of motivation. And according to research teams at Harvard, the solution to burnout is to take time off work!

This applies to all employees in the business, from junior members of staff to senior managers. It’s vital for everyone to take advantage of their paid vacation allowances and use that time to recharge the batteries.

Signs your employees may be experiencing burnout

Symptoms of burnout can differ from employee to employee, but the overall impact can be detrimental to your entire team’s wellbeing. It is important to recognize signs of burnout and step in before it has a bigger impact on not just the individual employee but the wider business.

Noticing any of these signs in your employees over a prolonged period could be an indication of burnout:

Lack of concentration
Problems with time management
Changes in eating and sleeping habits (you may notice they appear tired or are eating less than normal)
Increased levels of irritability
Feeling unmotivated
Less interested in work activities and social events
Disassociation from colleagues

The impact of employee burnout on your business

As an employer you should be aware of burnout, be able to recognize the signs and know what to do to manage it.

For small businesses, frequent absences caused by burnout can create huge gaps in business output and lower productivity.

With just one employee on sick leave, the rest of your team will have to pick up the extra workload or otherwise leave their tasks incomplete. Slowing down business operations, putting greater pressure on the team, and potentially hindering the growth of the business.

That’s why it’s important to prevent burnout, so your team is always equipped to handle their tasks effectively and maintain productiveness.

How to beat burnout in the workplace

To beat burnout, it’s important to encourage a positive work life balance in your workplace. Urge your teams to use their vacation days, to spend time with their loved ones, book a trip or find other ways to relax and to switch off from work when necessary.

If you’re wondering how best to prompt your staff to take time off work, having a staff vacation planner tool is one of the best ways to oversee and manage this. With a clear view of your employee’s vacation entitlements and who needs to take time off work, it’s easier to give those who need a break a nudge to book time off and prevent burnout before it happens.

A staff vacation planner also ensures you’re never understaffed and have enough people to cover business operations when some staff members are on vacation so there’s no dip in business productivity and output.

Some employees may be hesitant to take time off work for fear of backlash, so it’s a good idea to speak to your team, to encourage everyone to book their PTO allowance and to take a break every now and then. Your employees can then return to work feeling refreshed and ready to take on work with a clear mindset.

Other ways you can prevent burnout include:

Setting clear boundaries and expectations for your employees
Promote breaks at work and ensure employees are getting away from their desks throughout the day.
Provide concise and regular feedback to keep employees aware of their progress.
Encourage an environment of open and honest communication
Offer an Employee Assistance Program for both their physical and mental wellbeing.

Manage staff vacation time with BrightHR

It’s clear that burnout can have a negative impact on a business. Both on the wellbeing of employees but also company performance and culture. To prevent a toxic work environment and a culture that causes burnout, encouraging your staff to take the vacation time they have earnt is vital.

Being able to track your entire team’s remaining vacation time for the year, gives you a clear overview of who has vacation time left to take. With this, you can see which employees may be at risk of burnout and can step in to encourage vacation time to give them a chance to switch off from work.

Update your PTO tracking with BrightHR. Our award-winning vacation planner tool makes managing your employee vacation time simple and easy to view. Features such as the automatic vacation calculations, and the option to approve or deny vacation requests in just a click will save your business time with a centralized digital employee vacation calendar.