Don't let stagnation beat you - take a staycation

Arthur Gillis, Group Managing Director of Protea Hotels, reckons that all you hardworking professionals out there should take time out for a couple of weeks a year and refresh your mind and regain focus so that you can offer the sort of service excellence and increased productivity your customers and company expect of you.

Many business executives sacrificed their annual holidays last year and thanks to a downturn in the economy, stress levels amongst employees are on the increase and people have to work smarter to retain clients. As luck would have it, this comes at a time when many outsourced services such as advertising are under scrutiny due to mass budget cuts. In this situation, it is vital that you perform at your peak and cope with the pressures that are part and parcel of delivering results to meet client expectations. However, just as regular exercise and a healthy diet encourage a healthy mind, so does enough rest.

One of the best ways to do that is get out of the work environment so that you can recharge your batteries... recover your mental well-being, and enthusiasm for your job.

"The importance of taking time off from the work place can be more easily understood when one makes the comparison between bodily fatigue and mental fatigue," said Bryan Hellman, a clinical psychologist, "Bodily fatigue is defined as a feeling of weariness, sleepiness or irritability following a period of mental or bodily activity. In a similar way, mental fatigue, which commonly presents as a disturbance in mood, usually irritability, is the result of not taking breaks or "time off" from mental and intellectual exertion."

On the flip side and despite the world recession, a lot of people are still insistent on taking that much-needed break are allocating income to this.

"Our key market is the stressed business person who has three discretionary assets that are under pressure - time, money and energy," continued Gillis. "Those who do take their breaks are doing so closer to home - the "staycation" saves time, money and energy!"

Due to the holiday-maker's needs to maximize on their three discretionary assets, research has also shown that approximately 19% of local corporates are extending their business stays into leisure stays, using the same hotel. Another holiday trend that has grown in popularity is in the spa/health club sector. Many holidaymakers are realizing the need to de-stress and taking full advantage of the relaxing treatments available at hotel and resort spas during their vacation.