Our environment and upbringing dramatically shape who we are. I grew up in a California farming family that instilled a steadfast work ethic for four generations. The trait is so firm that my grandfather, William, didn’t stop working until seven months before he died at eighty-nine. I had the fortunate opportunity to work alongside him for many years before I forged a different career path. During my time with my grandfather, I learned that his primary focus in life was looking after his cattle and building a family business that would survive for future generations. Now that I am a husband, father, and business owner, I realize that no matter how committed you are to building a business, it is vital to your health, family, and company to take a break.
I took my first job on the farm at nine years old. I was given a hoe and instructed to remove weeds around young walnut trees near our house. It was a simple task but a dreary and seemingly endless chore for a kid. However, growing up watching my grandfather and father commit, without hesitation, to the family business inspired me to want to do the same. I continued to work on the ranch on weekends and during the summer until I graduated from university and moved down to Los Angeles to pursue a different profession.
Laboring in the orchards and fields made me acutely aware of how hard my grandfather and father worked and the seven-day farmer’s work week toll on a family. I don’t recall my grandfather taking more than two vacations during his lifetime. One might argue that he never took a break because of the high cost of travel. However, you don’t need money to spend quality time with yourself and the people you love. I struggled as a kid with my father’s absence from family vacations, dinners, and other important events. I recognize that his desire to build a family business that could make life better for future generations drove him to rest rarely. Still, it is difficult for a child to understand why a job can be more important than the family.
My childhood experience made me realize that I didn’t want work to consume my life. However, when I launched my first company in 2006, I realized how much effort is required to sustain a business. Over a decade, I logged over 100,000 flight miles annually for speaking engagements and business meetings. As a result, the absence from home and my lack of breaks stressed my family relationship and well-being. I was irritable, exhausted, and disconnected from those I loved. When we took family vacations, I still answered the phone and worried about tasks not being done. I felt like I was developing my grandfather’s workaholic quality that I loathed as a child. Finally, after a decade of stress and unhappiness, I sold my share of the company and made a family promise to take more breaks from work and rebalance my life.
Research has proven that breaks from work are vital to maintaining good physical and mental health. Even though our bodies have systems to handle stress, persistent strain can create serious health problems. Jay Winner, MD, author of Take the Stress Out of your Life, says it can “Exacerbate just about any health condition you can think of.” For example, constant exposure to stress can cause headaches, digestive problems, asthma, and increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression.
Stress is a biological response to a threat to your body. When you feel strained, the different systems inside you begin to respond to protect you. For example, your lungs take in more oxygen, you breathe faster, your blood pumps quicker, cortisol and adrenaline surge through your bloodstream, as your pulse and blood pressure rise and your blood vessels contract. Each specific bodily reaction protects it from danger. Still, persistent stress can cause severe long-term damage, so work-life balance is crucial to your physical and mental well-being.
A recent survey by software company Qaultrics illustrated that only twenty-seven percent of U.S. employees took a paid vacation in 2021. Furthermore, the study showed that when the workers did take a break, forty-nine percent still worked an hour a day, and twenty-four percent worked three hours or more. Therefore, if you don’t take time to unplug, you won’t feel the impact of the break. In reality, you are working in a new environment but still subjecting your body to the same stressful demands of your job.
Taking genuine breaks from work is preventive medicine that benefits the individual and the business. Studies show that work breaks can lead to increased productivity, enhanced creativity, higher job satisfaction, and a stronger desire to exceed work-related goals. Therefore, the collective impact of employees taking a vacation can increase the organization’s output, ingenuity, longevity, and performance.
To be honest, I’m grateful my father and grandfather helped develop my strong work ethic because it has helped me develop a career I truly enjoy. I am now working on teaching my daughters the value of this strong family trait. First, however, I want them to understand how vital breaks are to their well-being and healthy relationships. I feel the best way to demonstrate why vacations are essential is to make sure I always take extended time away from work to spend time with them. To be honest, I wrote this article to remind myself how critical it is for me to take a break this summer.
In a few days, I will depart with my family to spend a week at the beach to absorb all the health, family, and professional benefits a genuine vacation from work offers. I love what I do, so it will be hard to unplug, but I know it is necessary. I probably will check emails every other day to prevent an overloaded inbox when I return, but I’m clearing my “work plate” before I go, so I don’t feel the urge to think about unfinished tasks. Author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou said, “Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from cares which will not withdraw from us.” My partners and I recognize the importance of Angelou’s words and how periodically withdrawing from work produces a far greater return for me, my family, and Tansley.
Please contact us if you’re interested in learning how Tansley can help develop business solutions that automate processes and reduce the stress that prevents you from taking breaks from work.
