Take a Break This Weekend. Your Business Will Thank You

Doing pretty much anything other than working will make you more effective on Monday.

Photo by Chris Thompson on Unsplash

Any small business owner will tell you that taking time away from work or even turning off the phone for a few hours can be really difficult. After all, entrepreneurship is pretty much a 24/7 gig. You knew that going in.

But maybe you’d be more likely to take a break if you knew it would actually make you better at your job as leader of your business. That’s what researchers discovered recently when they examined how work-life balance impacted managers’ ability to keep employees on track and motivated. 

Managers who disconnected from their jobs while at home felt more refreshed the next day, identified as effective leaders, and helped their employees stay on target better than bosses who spent their off hours worrying about work, according to researchers at the University of Florida, the University of Arizona and Florida State University, whose study was recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

This was especially true of less-experienced leaders who were even more prone to being less effective if they didn’t get a break from thinking about work in off hours. 

Managers who mentally and technologically disconnected from work at night were able to re-energize and more effectively lead teams the next day. They also reported being better at motivating and guiding their employees. Seems like common sense, but sometimes it’s hard to remember when it feels like you’re on call ALL. THE. TIME.

So what counts as disconnecting? Pretty much anything you enjoy that doesn’t involve worrying about your business. Researchers say that exercise, socializing, hobbies, reading or even watching TV are all effective at restoring your work-life balance. 

So, take a break this weekend. Your business will thank you.

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