Employees truly deserve paid vacations. They

struggle through stressful jobs most of the year,

and productivity goes down if they don't get a

break. From a corporate perspective, investment in

good vacation programs reduces workplace stress

absenteeism, health care costs, and accidents.

Many employees, however, come back from vacation

with the half-joking remark about having to return

to work to rest up. Far too many people find

vacations just as stressful as the jobs they do

every day.

Following are fourteen ways company managers can

de-stress vacations, increase productivity, improve

quality, boost profits, and get the most from the

corporate investment.

1. Develop vacation savings plans so employees

will be financially prepared for this big expense

2. Provide continuous counseling for personal

finances, budgeting, and credit issues

3. Double check for payroll errors to make sure

employees are not affected by discrepancies while

they are on vacation

4. Distribute job responsibilities to prevent

employees' returning to overflowing in-boxes

5. Announce job changes after vacations, not

before

6. Provide in-house workshops on vacation

planning

7. Negotiate corporate discounts with travel

agencies

8. Show employees how to research travel plans

on internet

9. On the last day before vacation, give

employees an extra half-day off for last minute

preparations. This strategy brings value to the

company through motivation, esprit, and quality

control.

10. Coach employees to get major projects out of

the way two weeks before vacations to prevent

stressful, sometimes inadequate, last-minute

efforts

12. Ask for destination contact information for

purpose of emergency notification and then use the

info to send a special note or small gift that

will be waiting for them upon arrival.

11. Demonstrate your interest by scheduling time

to visit with employees about their great

adventure - before and after vacation

13. Get employee input on vacation schedules to

make sure dates work out with spouse's schedule

14. Encourage a more restful week-long vacation

instead of a less rewarding one or two day absence

There you have it - fourteen ways to de-stress

vacations. Your company gets its money's worth

out of these vacations when employees are rested

and ready to get back to work.

For more info on controlling workplace stress send

an email to: 3sessionstress@sendfree.com

Dale Collie - professional speaker, former US Army Ranger, CEO, and a Fast Company top 50 innovative leader. Author of "Winning Under Fire." (McGraw-Hill) collie@couragebuilders.com