How to Stop Wasting Your Vacation Thrive Global, Michelle Gielan July 31, 2017 My husband (and fellow happiness researcher) Shawn Achor and I have taken the exact same vacation together each summer for the past five years, but this is the first time we didn’t mess it up. On the surface, the trips have been the same…
The Data-Driven Case for Vacation Harvard Business Review, Shawn Achor and Michelle Gielan July 13, 2016 Over the past three years, we have partnered with the U.S. Travel Association to more clearly understand the relationship between well-being and taking time off from work. Our hypothesis has been that without recovery periods, our ability to continue performing at…
Are the People Who Take Vacations the Ones Who Get Promoted? Harvard Business Review, Shawn Achor June 2015 Too many people limit their happiness and success by assuming that taking time off from work will send a negative message to their manager and slow their career advancement. But new research, says that the exact opposite…
When people are stressed, you often hear them say, “I need a vacation.” But could a less stressful trip result in higher happiness and energy at work? Is there a vacation from work that is scientifically proven to lead to greater levels of productivity, higher energy and lower stress? In December 2013, we set out to find the answer. More…
I thought it was simple: Vacations are fun. After all, taking time off work and time away gives us the opportunity to make memories, share experiences with our family and friends and see the world. Right? But research doesn’t hold that line of thinking up. Not every vacation is equal. And theory – the idea…