Giles Cadman 
The workplace landscape has changed drastically in recent years, with the surge of startups and the disruption of many traditional business models.
It can be hard to keep up in our new sharing economy; there's no room for slacking and the competition is fierce. It's an exciting time in corporate culture but your employees are facing immense pressure.
So, you offer your employees the mandatory two-week paid vacation time. But will they take it? Recent studies have reported that employees are taking less and less vacation time because of fear of judgement from colleagues and employers, and because they have too much work to go on vacation.
However, the same study from Project: Time Off found that when employees skip out on their vacation time, it doesn't just affect them negatively "“ it's also bad for your bottom line. Not using vacation time to try to get ahead also doesn't work, as the study found that employees who take their vacation are more likely to get promoted and get a raise.
In an article in the Harvard Business Review, Shawn Achor, the founder of the consulting firm GoodThink, writes that people who take time off excel in the workplace. His work with Project: Time Off also found that Americans are using less vacation time today compared to any time in the last 40 years, which is no surprise, but astounding nonetheless.
As a business owner, this is alarming news. I'm a huge believer in vacation time and travel "“ in fact, I recently wrote a blog about how travel can benefit your business and your decision"“making abilities. Taking time off is the only way to come up with new ideas "“ you can't think outside the box if you never leave it!
Project: Time Off's study also found that employees who use all their vacation time increased their chances of getting promoted and getting a raise by 6.5 percent, compared with people who leave 11 or more paid vacation days unused. It may seem redundant to say, but when your employees take time off, they will perform better, and that's a win-win for everyone.
Productive and engaged employees deserves to be recognized and awarded vacation time, and as an employer, it's your job to make sure your employees are using this time to stay this way.
So what's my solution? Speak up about vacation time at work. Do your best to keep tabs on your employee's vacation time and encourage them to use it. I understand "“ we're all busy. But a happy, healthy, and productive employee makes the little nudge worth it.
