Self-Care A-Z: Human Rights, Best Practices, and Leisure Time

by Erlene Grise-Owens, Ed.D., LCSW, MSW, MRE, lead co-editor of The A-to-Z Self-Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals 

     In a recent post, Cortney Downs shared her aha experience after taking a vacation. Like Cortney, many of us think we don’t need time off or that we can’t take it. Like many aspects of self-care, leisure is viewed as a luxury. However, time away from work is an integral part of balanced, just, and sustainable professional practice.

Human Rights and Evidence-Based Practice

     If you’re reading this post, you’re probably human. 😊 So, this applies to you!  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 24, states that everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitations on working hours and periodic paid vacations.

     Growing research documents both the deleterious effects of not taking time off from work and the positive benefits of vacation. Leisure time (or lack thereof) affects personal relationships, mental and physical health, civic engagement, burnout rates, and professional performance. Take Back Your Time has excellent resources documenting the need for leisure time and ways to pursue it, at micro and macro levels. Their superb documentary (with Bullfrog Films) The Great Vacation Squeeze  is engaging and informative.

     Leisure time is not a luxury. It is evidence-based best practice and a basic human right.

Self-Care Struggle in a Workaholic Culture

     Yet, particularly in the U.S., we’re so accustomed to stress-packed, work-filled schedules, we don’t know how to take breaks. A recent meme on social media, Types of Vacations Social Workers Need, lists: “A week to sleep. A week [without] any decisions. A week to deep clean their car. A week to detox from caffeine.” People have added suggestions, such as eat regularly, get life back in order, and have no phone calls. However, the general tone of responses to this meme is that time off is a luxurious fantasy.

     Even if taking time away, too often, “vacation” consists of jam-packed schedules; lack of sleep, poor diet, and more stress; going into debt; and staying connected to work. Then, people return exhausted to plunge immediately back into an overwhelming work schedule. In our workaholic culture, time off is a self-care struggle! We need to learn how to prioritize and maximize leisure time.

Leisure Time 101

     Alex Soojung-Kim Pang reports that restorative vacations involve four factors: relaxation, control, mental detachment from work, and mastery experiences. Also, in terms of mediating work stress, more frequent short breaks can have as much or more impact than longer vacations. So, certainly going to the beach for a week or traveling to Argentina for a month are excellent vacations. And, extended time off (such as sabbaticals) can have incredible benefits. However, taking a day or two on a regular basis to (a) recalibrate your body through sleep, movement, and diet (relax); (b) clean your car or do other needed tasks (control); (c) unplug from work demands (detach); (d) take a cooking class, hike a trail, or do art (mastery) can have immediate and exponential effects.   

     So, Leisure Time 101: Time off is a human right and evidence-based best practice! Self-Care Assignment: Take a break!

Peace, Love, & Self-Care, Erlene

Dr. Erlene Grise-Owens, Ed.D., LCSW, MSW, MRE is a Partner in The Wellness Group, ETC.  This LLC provides evaluation, training, and consultation for organizational wellness and practitioner well-being. Dr. Grise-Owens is lead editor of The A-to-Z Self-Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals.  As a former faculty member and graduate program director, she and a small (but mighty!) group of colleagues implemented an initiative to promote self-care as part of the social work education curriculum. Previously, she served in clinical and administrative roles. She has experience with navigating toxicity and dysfunction, up-close and personal! Likewise, as an educator, she saw students enter the field and quickly burn out. As a dedicated social worker, she believes the well-being of practitioners is a matter of social justice and human rights. Thus, she is on a mission to promote self-care and wellness!