Timeout is better than burnout
Taking more frequent, shorter holidays is being touted as the key to reducing millennials’ stress, discovers Dani Wright
Mindful millennials are leaders in healthy lifestyle choices, such as clean eating and sober socialising, so why are they dubbed Generation Stress?
It seems over-stimulation and a reliance on technology, the inability to tune out from work — even on holiday — and the pressure to be as perfect as the image of their favourite Instagram bloggers is taking its toll.
That’s why Choice Hotels Asia-Pac CEO Trent Fraser is urging millennials to take shorter holidays more often as a solution to stress, pointing out that forcing yourself to disconnect for a few days is easier than going off grid for a few weeks.
His company commissioned the Need A Break research report, surveying more than 1000 New Zealanders on their levels of stress and holiday habits.
The research showed that millennials, who are known as a highly educated, technologically savvy, self-confident and ambitious group, were the most stressed of any other generation of Kiwis with 75 per cent admitting to feeling some level of stress, mostly coming from work and finances.
The report also showed 76 per cent of New Zealanders felt no guilt towards connecting with the office and accepted it as just “a part of everyday life”, with 40 per cent admitting they stay connected to work in some way even while on holiday.
However, around three-quarters believed a short break was easier to plan than a longer holiday and felt the benefits of a restored sense of balance to their lives and revitalisation upon return, even if it was just a few days away and only a few hours’ drive.
All generations, including millennials, placed a short break as the top solution to relieve stress.
“You can take a getaway for a few days very cheaply — a quick drive, or even staying with family and friends — it’s often all the break you need to shake yourself out of a stressful mood,” says Fraser.
“If you don’t think you can manage disconnecting yourself, visit somewhere that forces you to disconnect, such as a remote location where there’s no internet connection.”
Fraser admits, however, that the problem with leaving technology at home or at the office is that it’s the same technology we use to stay connected to friends and families, so it’s hard to avoid the crossover. To manage this in his workplace, he encourages a flexible work approach.
“We’ve embraced being a 24/7 hotel business and we know our team need to be available at odd hours, so we’ve become flexible,” he says. “Rather than being hours-reliant and expecting someone to sit here from 9-5, we focus on performance and output instead.”
He says employing adults means you treating them as adults and having the faith and trust that the job is being done whether they are sat in the office or out at an event, checking emails on the run.
Other wellness initiatives Fraser employs for his staff include contributing 50 per cent to gym memberships, providing monthly massages, fresh fruit, the removal of unhealthy vending machines and an internal policy requiring people to take their annual leave, rather than stockpiling it.
“As a result of our approach, my team doesn’t have many burnouts and we note the strong link between physical fitness and work productivity,” says Fraser.
“We set up the new Need A Break travel content hub and itinerary planning tool website as an extension of our inhouse philosophies to encourage everyone to take a break from time to time.”
Need a Break is about encouraging local tourism, which is cheaper on your wallet than exchange rates and feeding tourism dollars back into the New Zealand economy.
“Instead of going overseas, stay a few hours’ away in the wine country,” suggests Fraser.
“Book into a great motel, have a local pub meal and a simple getaway and come back feeling refreshed without breaking the bank or affecting your work commitments.”
And if a short break seems indulgent, think of the timeout that will be needed when you eventually burn out while waiting for that long holiday to start.