Four cast-iron reasons for taking a break from your business

This is a genuine physiological response and one that can only be reversed with rest and sleep. Do your brain – and your colleagues, friends and family – a favour and give your brain a break.

2. Space for ideas

Nearly one third (29pc) of small business owners have a Eureka! moment while on annual leave.

The Business is GREAT Britain campaign surveyed 1,000 SME owners and managers and found that 59pc of them gain clear benefits from their time off on holiday, such as giving them a chance to clear their head and gain a better perspective. Furthermore, one in five return to work looking to hire new staff and 19pc with plans to actively grow and expand their enterprises in some way.

3. Work to live, don’t live to work

Spending time with the people you care about, travelling, and pursuing interests outisde work is important. When Australian palliative nurse Bronnie Ware began researching the top five regrets of the dying, she found that an alarming majority of the patients in her care said the same thing: “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard”.

“They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship,” she said. “They deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.”

4. Proof that the sky won’t fall in

Many business owners feel that if they leave their company to its own devices for even a moment, something terrible will happen.

In reality, the sky won’t fall in, your customers won’t leave and your staff will keep on working.

By taking a step back, and allowing your team to step up, you are also creating a company where your people feel trusted, which can only be beneficial to the long-term health of the company. And remember, the time may come when you are forced to take time out, either because of illness or other life circumstances. Far better to test the waters with a holiday than an emergency.

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