It's vacation season!
One by one, your employees rotate to take their two weeks of vacation. Each time one comes back, the same phrase is heard: "It was too short".
Does this scenario sound familiar? According to the CNESST, employees with 1 to 3 years of continuous service must have a minimum of 2 weeks of paid vacation. While employees with more than 3 years of service are entitled to 3 weeks of vacation.
In Quebec, vacations are often taken in the summer, during spring break and during the holiday season... As an employer, you may think that your duty is fulfilled if you respect the CNESST standards. But as an employee, it is difficult to take vacation during 3 periods of the year with only 2 weeks of paid vacation.
Wouldn't the solution be to give your employees more vacation time? Vacations are an inexpensive way to contribute to the well-being and retention of your employees.
Let us explain why this is a win-win solution!
Vacations contribute to employee well-being
Employee well-being includes the work environment, autonomy, work-life balance, and benefits such as vacation time.
It may seem trivial, but quality of work life is a major issue in this country. In fact, nearly half of employees between the ages of 20 and 40 suffer or have suffered from mental health problems at work. These problems can cause absenteeism, dissatisfaction or poor performance. While vacations have the opposite effect...
Main benefits of vacation :
- Reduce accidents and absenteeism
Well-rested employees are less likely to have work-related accidents caused by stress or fatigue. They are also less likely to be absent from work due to physical or mental illness.
- Increase retention rate
Having a quality of life at work, notably through a generous vacation policy, increases employee satisfaction, motivation and commitment. As a result, they stay longer with the company.
It's a fact that having several vacation days is associated with well-being and quality of life at work. And this has a positive impact on employees, but also on the company. Which brings us to the next point...
Vacations do not decrease performance
In addition to all the benefits mentioned above, vacation time does not diminish performance. Having 4 weeks of vacation instead of 2 does not negatively influence performance. On the contrary, employees who come back from vacation are more efficient and more creative, and this, up to 1 month after their vacation.
Several studies have even shown that the countries that offer the most paid vacation are also the most productive. Countries like Luxembourg, Norway and Denmark are among the most productive countries according to Expert Market, but their employees work an average of 1400 hours per year, compared to about 1700 hours/year in Canada.
See the table of the most productive countries here.
In addition, from a financial point of view, offering more weeks of vacation to employees is an inexpensive way to improve company culture and employee satisfaction. And a vacation policy is much easier to implement than a happy hour or an office ping-pong tournament...
Vacations are a competitive advantage
While most employers offer 2 to 3 weeks of vacation to new employees, offering more could certainly set you apart. In the current labour shortage, one way to tackle this issue is to go back to the essentials to attract new talent.
So you don't have to come up with all kinds of unusual marketing strategies to get candidates to apply. Demonstrating that you care about the quality of life of your employees can make a big difference. These days, candidates evaluate many aspects, such as total compensation, company culture, etc., before accepting an opportunity.
Other aspects to consider
When thinking about how many weeks of vacation you want to offer your employees, think about your vacation policy. This policy should be clear and specific, and should be communicated to your employees in advance.
- Who can take vacation and when?
- How far in advance do you need to notify your manager?
- After how many years can you take X number of weeks of vacation?
Ensure that your measures are fair, so as not to create a sense of injustice and thus dissatisfaction among your employees.
Consult the CNESST to ensure that you comply with all standards.
When hiring a new employee, also consider seniority outside your company when determining the number of weeks of vacation. Especially if you are recruiting people currently employed through headhunting services. Indeed, a person who already has 4 weeks of vacation at his or her current job will be less likely to accept an offer that includes only 2 weeks of vacation. So be open to negotiation if you are actively recruiting.
Having a nice, fair and generous vacation policy will allow you to keep your current employees, but also attract new talent in this labor shortage.
Learn more about our headhunting services.
