Tag Archives: purposwed working

day 3K151: Take A Vacation!

“He told them, “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord.”

It’s taken a Pandemic, a Great Resignation, a move to Remote Work and a Talent Shortage to shift the thinking on what is vacation time and who should take it and when.  Apparently, Goldman Sachs has seen a new light and are boldly changing how they think about vacation time.  This is from an article in Quartz: “Goldman instated its new holiday policies in April, according to an internal memo seen by Quartz. It mandated unlimited vacation for senior staff, defined as all partners and managing directors globally, effective this month. And starting next year, all staff, including senior executives, will be required to take at least 15 days of holiday annually, including at least one week of consecutive days off.”  Goldman Sachs has made the decision that to be most effective and productive we need to have downtime and away time.  Real down and real away, not just a few hours here and there. Will others follow suit?  Hard to tell, but an organization that I am involved with just approved dedicated extra time away for its Executive Director to focus on total wellness (mind, body and spirit) once a quarter.  Work is by nature, hard and for so long we have haven’t really paid much attention to the rest that is needed to work at our best.

We are taught to observe the Sabbath.  We need a rest too from the world that is constantly challenging and pushing at us.  A day of rest was created for us, but are we using it?  And, are we using it wisely?  When was the last time we really and truly observed a Sabbath?  If we are struggling today with patience, grace, calmness, positive thoughts and moods, it may be that God is tell us to follow His directions and find our Sabbath time!

Reference: Exodus 16:23 (New Living Translation)