Did you know, data shows that people who take more than 10 paid vacation days have a 65% chance of receiving a raise or bonus?

Vacations are a key habit of the high-performers. A recent study performed by the U.S. Travel Association showed statistically that vacations are not just a good idea, but rather a critical practice that benefits our health, well-being, and financial success. Many of us have paid time off offered to us by our employers, yet many people think that if they martyr themselves for their jobs that they will be more successful. Nothing could be more false.

What follows are three findings from the study that show compelling reasons why we absolutely must take vacations.

It’s awesome for our well-being. Taking a vacation presses the reset button on ourselves. The study showed, taking more vacation results in greater success at work, lower stress levels, and more happiness at work and at home. If we don’t vacation “we’re losing out on crucial recovery time that our bodies and brains need — which is why vacations are so very important.” It gives us something to look forward to, and to work toward. Knowing you’ll be away drives you to get your work done more quickly so that you can relax while you’re away. One caveat to this is that a vacation needs to be well-planned. Statistically, a poorly-planned, tense, pressured, frustrating vacation does not improve energy levels or reduce stress, in fact, they completely eliminate the benefits of time away. However, the opposite is also true, if you are far from work, present, connecting with family and friends, and taking time to have fun, relax, or reflect, those vacations have the intended return on investment (ROI) in terms of being refreshed when you return home and to work. Statistically, it was found that if the vacation was planned at least one month ahead, that was a fair predictor that you would have a successful vacation.

We are “volunteering our time” if we don’t. The US Travel Association study also found that most people (95% in fact) say that using their paid time off was very important. A Harvard Business Review article in 2016 referenced the US Travel Association report saying, “more than half of Americans (55%) left vacation days unused, which equates to 658 million unused vacation days.Imagine the impact those vacations could have on the U.S. economy — on airlines, hotels, restaurants, attractions, and towns — not to mention the impact it would have on individuals’ stress levels. Would you do your job for free? And do you take all your vacation days? If you say no to the first, you had better say yes to the second. In truth, if you are not taking all your time off, you’re not working more — you’re volunteering your time…By giving up this time off, Americans are effectively volunteering hundreds of millions of days of free work for their employers, which results in $61.4 billion in forfeited benefits.” Imagine the impact those vacations could have on the U.S. economy — on airlines, hotels, restaurants, attractions, and towns — not to mention the impact it would have on individuals’ stress levels. Would you do your job for free? And do you take all your vacation days? If you say no to the first, you had better say yes to the second. In truth, if you are not taking all your time off, you’re not working more — you’re volunteering your time…By giving up this time off, Americans are effectively volunteering hundreds of millions of days of free work for their employers, which results in $61.4 billion in forfeited benefits.

You’re more likely to get a raise or bonus. Finally, the most compelling reason for vacation, is this, “People who took fewer than 10 of their vacation days per year had a 34.6% likelihood of receiving a raise or bonus in a three-year period of time. People who took more than 10 of their vacation days had a 65.4% chance of receiving a raise or bonus. If you take 11 or more of your vacation days, you are more than 30% more likely to receive a raise.”

If you weren’t a believer before, then hopefully you are now, and hopefully, you are planning your next trip – your bonus or raise may depend on it.

Question: What do you think of this study? Do you agree with it? If so why? If not why not? You can leave a comment by clicking here.