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Vacation has been linked to an increase in job satisfaction and professional well-being as well as a decrease in burnout and stress.

In a study conducted at University of the Rockies, a graduate school specializing in master's and doctorate degrees in psychology, the benefits of vacation length peak at approximately 10 days, which supports previous research findings that 10 to 14 days of vacation may be the optimal length.

Dena Ann Dries, a doctorate student, set out to examine the amount of paid vacation days necessary per year to promote positive employee and employer effects.

The study included 143 full-time employees (defined as at least 32 hours per week,) not self-employed and not per diem workers. Participants ranged from 21 to 62 years of age; the median age was 41. Length of vacation taken ranged from one day to 15 days with a mean of 5.23 days.

According to the Dries dissertation, sufficient vacation time stabilizes mental health and contributes to professional well-being. There was a significant difference between those who had taken three or more weeks of vacation and those with only one week or less of vacation.

"There is a point at which adding vacation days ceases to increase job satisfaction, ceases to impact retention and ceases to impact professional well-being," the study says. "Between groups analysis revealed that participants who took more than three weeks of vacation showed no significant differences in any of the workplace variables with the exception of extreme burnout."

The concept of professional well-being, as defined by Dries, is that certain aspects of ones occupation have an impact upon physical and psychological health as well as overall career outlook.

About University of the Rockies

University of the Rockies is a graduate school specializing in master's and doctorate degree programs in psychology. Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (www.ncahlc.org), classes are offered online and at the University's Colorado Springs, Colorado, campus. For more information, please visit www.rockies.edu or call Shari Rodriguez, associate vice president of Public Relations, at 866.621.0124 x2513.