Protea Hotels say that time out of work feeds productivity

Cape Town, 19 January 2008: “It is of utmost importance for hard working professionals to take time-out for a couple of weeks a year and refresh their minds and regain focus in order to offer service excellence and increased productivity.” This is the advice that Arthur Gillis, Group Managing Director of Protea Hotels is giving to South Africans in view of many business executives sacrificing their annual holidays last year.

Due to a downturn in the economy, stress levels amongst employees are on the increase and people have to work smarter to retain clients. This comes in an age where many outsourced services such as advertising are under scrutiny due to mass budget cuts. In this situation, it is vital that employees perform at their peak and cope with the pressures that are part and parcel of delivering results to meet client expectations. Just as regular exercise and a healthy diet encourage a healthy mind, so does enough rest. Removing ones self from the daily work environment is essential to recharging mental well-being and allowing for effectiveness in the work place.

"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 corporate are extending their business stays into leisure stays, using the same hotel. Another holiday trend which has grown in popularity is in the spa / health club sector. Many holiday makers are realizing the need to de-stress and taking full advantage of the relaxing treatments available at hotel and resort spas during their vacation.