Would You Be Thankful or Horrified If the Emails You Got While on Vacation Disappeared? Arianna Huffington really wants to make sure her employees unplug.

By Nina Zipkin

entrepreneur daily
Shutterstock

Americans are known for being truly terrible at taking time off. A study from careers site Glassdoor found that the average employee reported only taking 54 percent of the vacation days they had available to them. More telling is that 66 percent of those polled said that they worked while they were away.

There are tons of tools out there to make your inbox a little less daunting, but if you're always checking email, even if you're supposed to be relaxing, that stress will still follow you to whatever beach you've parked yourself on.

Arianna Huffington, the founder and CEO of wellness brand Thrive Global, has long been a proponent of unplugging to the point of creating on-the-nose merch -- such as a $50 charging bed for your phone. Now, she's introduced an email office tool called Thrive Away that she described in a post for Harvard Business Review.

Related: The Impact Of Chronic Work Stress On Your Employees

"While you're on vacation, people who email you get a message, letting them know when you'll be back. And then -- the most important part -- the tool deletes the email," she wrote." If the email is important, the sender can always send it again. If it's not, then it's not waiting for you when you get back, or even worse, tempting you to read it while you're away."

While most companies likely won't implement an office-wide system like Huffington's, it's a helpful reminder that if you don't respond to that email right away, the world won't come to an end. And as a business owner, if you want your employees to stay healthy and productive, it's on you to encourage them to actually take that time away for themselves -- and leave their inboxes behind.

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Data & Recovery

Through March 24th: 1TB of Premium Cloud Storage Is Just $130 with This Code

Koofr offers advanced file management features, integration with external cloud management accounts, and reliable security.

Side Hustle

This Gen Zer's Stylish Side Hustle Earns About $20,000 a Month and Paid Off His Parents' $200,000 Debt: 'I Enjoy the Hands-Off Nature'

Ray Cao went from working as a barista for $8 an hour to being a successful seller on online marketplace StockX.

Franchise

He Got Bored With Retirement. Now He's Selling $18 Million Annually.

Don Lanier was ready for a change, and that pushed him to succeed. Here's how he did it.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

'A Lobstrosity': Social Media Is Losing It Over Martha Stewart's Latest Meal Posting

The 82-year-old caused quite a stir on Instagram this week.