Regular patrons of J. Broussard’s restaurant and bakery in downtown Columbus may have noted a June 21 post on the restaurant’s social media accounts announcing it would be closed “for a little summertime R&R” with the restaurant reopening on July 10 and the bakery opening the following week.

The idea of companies suspending operations so all of their employees can have some real time off is not a new one, but what J. Broussard’s is doing appears to be gaining traction in companies big and small.

In 2022, LinkedIn began shutting down for a week in April to provide its 16,000 employees a break in addition to its annual week-long shutdown at the end of the year. A few months later, auditing giant PwC initiated a firmwide one-week shutdown in July for its 75,000 U.S. employees.

In Europe, these vacation shutdowns have long been a common practice.

In the U.S. where the work ethic is a part of the national ethos, these mandated breaks for work offer would-be workaholics a chance to strike a better balance between work and personal time. The U.S. ranks 29th among the world’s most developed nations in the percentage of employees who work 50 or more hours per week (10%). Italy tops the list with just 3% of its employees working 50 or more hours in a week.

Data provided by Clockify, a web-based time tracking software used to track work hours, projects and productivity, shows that even though U.S. workers have less paid time off (PTO) than their European counterparts, 46% of U.S. workers still don’t use all of the time off they are entitled to take and 38% of workers don’t consider PTO to be extremely important.

Most of us take pride in being hardworking and are concerned how our absence may negatively affect our company. Clockify’s data bears this out – 68% of employees work while on vacation, and even among those who don’t work during vacation, 52% worry about work when they are taking PTO.

A staggering 77% of American workers have experienced burnout and nearly two-thirds of Americans report struggling with work-life balance. Employees who are under this kind of stress often see the quality of their work decline. Neither the employee nor employer benefit in those situations.

In that sense, a company-wide vacation protects employees from themselves.

It also reduces the stress employees are under when their co-workers are taking PTO. All too often, the work done by that vacationing employee is added to the workload of other employees. This is especially difficult for companies with a small workforce.

When the whole company is on vacation, no one carries an extra burden. Employees are free from the temptation to work while on vacation or worry about how things are going in their absence.

Not all employers can shut down their entire operation, of course, but for those companies who can, it’s an idea worth considering.

A company-wide break offers all employees a chance to rest, enjoy their private lives and come back to work rejuvenated. Employers at huge firms like PwC and smaller businesses like J. Broussard’s understand the value these company-wide breaks provide.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

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