As a small-business owner, you need to be dedicated to improving your company every single day. Whether this involves showing up at the office at the crack of dawn to chase down suppliers on the phone or cruising across the state to meet the biggest clients in your portfolio, some days as the head of a small company can make it seem like taking just one day off could mean the end of profitability.
While you might be able to burn the candle at both ends, your employees might not have the same business stamina. Instead of working them raw, it might benefit your small business more to give them time off to relax and recuperate from the stresses of daily life. In fact, if you mix in some clever promotional products, you can turn employee vacations into some of the best investments into your small business you make all year.
This is a sure sign that your employees need a break from the office.The case for breaks
It takes a dynamic, entrepreneurial spirit to start a small business, but that kind of gung-ho attitude isn’t exactly a strict requirement among all employees. In fact, keeping your employees in the office all year round with limited breaks isn’t just unrealistic – it could hurt your productivity.
According to a 1999 study by researchers at Cornell University, workers who took short breaks from their computers made 40 percent fewer typing errors than their counterparts who remained at their workstations.
“We found that alerting computer users to take short rests and breaks improved work accuracy without any reductions in overall keystroke and mouse use,” Alan Hedge, Ph.D., professor of design and environmental analysis at Cornell, said in a statement.
“Workers who took short breaks from their computers made 40% fewer typing errors.”
Moreover, Hedge found that the longer the breaks, the greater the reduction in errors. Their conclusion: Long periods spent away from work actually boost productivity and efficiency upon the workers’ returns.
Encourage fun in the sun
While you probably offer all your employees at least a handful of vacation days every year, there’s no way to guarantee that they actually take these so your small business receives a productivity boost afterward. However, you can use promotional products to serve as subtle reminders that there’s more out there this summer than the four walls and fluorescent lights of the office.
Items like Myron’s Promotional King of the Road Travel Bag serve as stylish yet subtle hints that summer travel season is just around the corner. It’s a small gesture, but having a convenient way to organize all your travel necessities in one carrying case eliminates a headache for many would-be travelers. From there, it’s a few clicks to book a flight, hotel and itinerary in a far-away destination.
If you can’t manage to persuade any of your employees to actually start taking productivity-boosting vacations, you might just have to throw one yourself. Instead of bringing employees in for a day of the regular grind, schedule a field trip or company outing they can bring their families to as well. Just make sure you don’t forget the promotional products to set the right mood for the day. Myron’s series of men’s and women’s customizable T-shirts means you can print different-colored apparel for each of your departments to put a competitive spin on the outing’s softball and pie-eating contests, if you so choose.
Your employees aren’t robots, and any small-business owner worth his or her salt will give them the time off they need to refresh themselves. When they come back tanned and ready to work, you’ll both be thankful for it.