Table of Contents

1. Your customer service skills are waning
2. You’re exhausted
3. You have trouble paying attention to details
4. It’s been forever since you last saw your friends or family
5. You can’t remember what it’s like to be a guest
6. You’re uninspired

Did you know that 4 in 10 American workers don’t take their paid time off!?

Are you part of that 40%? It may feel like it’s never the right time to take some time off, maybe your workload is piling up, or financially it doesn’t feel like a great time, or you don’t know where you’d even want to go.

Even if you don’t go anywhere specifically, or just take a Friday off every couple of weeks to binge Netflix, we’re here to remind you that taking time away from work is essential to help mitigate burnout.

These are the signs to watch for that will let you know it’s time to take a vacation.

1. Your customer service skills are waning 

Being courteous toward guests and your fellow employees is expected in any hospitality position. You’ve learned to keep your cool through many potentially infuriating guest complaints.

So if you find yourself feeling consistently grumpy at work—or worse, letting the people around you see how irritable you are—you’re likely due for a break.

2. You’re exhausted

Of course, long shifts can be tiring for anybody, and you may consider feeling fatigued at the end of a busy night to be a normal part of your job.

But if it’s been ages since you slept a full seven hours and just the thought of returning to work makes you tired, it’s probably time to take a few days off.

3. You have trouble paying attention to details

If you no longer notice or care about the details of your work, that’s another sign of burnout. For example, a guest might ask for a king-size bed, but you shrug it off and assign a room without checking if the bed is queen-size or king-size.

Disregarding details like that can lead to significant errors, unhappy guests, and disciplinary action from your manager, so take this warning sign seriously.

4. It’s been forever since you last saw your friends or family

Hospitality jobs are time-consuming and it can be tough to find time for friends and family, especially if you work nights or double shifts. Sometimes, taking time off work is the only way to keep in touch with someone you normally don’t get to see, like a friend who works the opposite shift or a relative who lives in another state.

If it’s been too long since you last talked to the people who matter to you, a vacation is in order.

5. You can’t remember what it’s like to be a guest

Part of providing stellar service to guests is empathizing with them and understanding how it feels to be dining or lodging away from home.

In order to do that, you should have a fairly recent memory of a time when you were a guest—like a visit to a coffee shop or an overnight stay in another city. If you’ve been working round the clock and haven’t traveled or dined out lately, it’s time to take a break and experience the industry from the guest’s perspective.

6. You’re uninspired

When you accepted your current job, why was it a better choice than the other options? What did you love about the job on your first day? If you can’t enthusiastically answer those questions and you don’t feel any of your original motivation, that’s a sign that you could use some time away from work.

After taking a step back from your workplace stressors, you may find that you love your job again after all. If not, a break from your routine can be the catalyst for reevaluating your work situation and finding a new position that inspires you.