With August in full swing, summer in Minnesota will soon be coming to a close. If you haven’t taken a few days off or just one (or even a half day!) to enjoy your favorite summer activity, there is still time! Did you know taking vacation time can actually improve your productivity at work? Forbes reported that more than 40% of American workers do not use all of their allotted vacation time. This is despite studies finding that taking vacation improves worker productivity, health and overall workplace morale leading to increased employee retention. Unfortunately, workers are leaving time on the table for many reasons – workload pressures, financial or job anxiety. Inc. recently polled a number of its columnists for reasons to take vacations. The first reason given: our brains need a break. Studies find our brains start to perform inefficiently when not given a rest from work activities. A break from work can benefit the company as well by ensuring training for backups, improving process documentation and empowering others with responsibilities. As a manager how can you help your employees take some time away from their jobs? First, simply encourage employees to take time off reports NBC Chicago. Start planning and talking early in the year and look for slow times in the operation to help for scheduling. Model taking time off yourself, but be sure your employees have the tools necessary to do well while you are gone. Financially, taking a big vacation out-of-town may not be in the cards for many, but enjoying many of the local summer activities the Twin Cities and surrounding areas have to offer for even an afternoon is a great way to start to re-energize and recharge. [caption id="attachment_738" align="aligncenter" width="298"] source: exploreminnesota.com[/caption]