Since the end of NeoCon, I’ve watched with envy as friends on LinkedIn have posted pictures of relaxing vacations in far-flung places. And why not? They deserve a break after one of the most busy periods on the industry calendar. In fact, all of us deserve a break.

Stress is literally killing us, yet we continue to work well beyond 40 hours a week, push ourselves to “get ahead” by working over the weekend and bring our laptops on vacation with us so we can post on LinkedIn while we “relax” by the pool.

So I’m here to tell you (and myself) to use your vacation and take the time you need to recharge. We simply work too much.

Don’t take it from me. According to a study by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, workplace stress has been reported to cause 120,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Approximately 65% of U.S. workers surveyed have characterized work as being a very significant or somewhat significant source of stress.

All that stress adds up. Job stress is estimated to cost American companies more than $300 billion a year in health costs, absenteeism and poor performance, according to research from UMass Lowell. It’s hard to imagine the cost in the health and wellness of employees and the loss of productivity faced by employers simply because of stress.

The UMass Lowell research found that stress isn’t just hurting your employees, it is a major reason they leave your company. About 40% of job turnover is because of stress. Healthcare expenses are 50% greater for workers who report high levels of stress. And the average cost of absenteeism in a large company adds up to more than $3.6 million per year.

I’m not going to let you (or myself) off the hook. There are two calls to action in this column. First, schedule some vacation time right now. Don’t wait. Don’t try to plan something first. Just get some vacation on the calendar. I’ve scheduled a few rare days off for myself in the coming weeks.

Next, take a moment to fill out the INDEAL Cares survey on Employee Wellness. It closes in a few short days, so please, help our industry out by filling out the short survey right now. INDEAL Cares has done a wonderful job of tracking employee wellness in our industry and you can check out the results from recent years after you are done with your own survey.

Just in case I haven’t hit you over the head with enough statistics to prompt you to complete your two homework lessons, consider this from the two studies above: Depression is the largest single predictor of absenteeism and work related performance; 83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress; and 54% of workers report that work stress affects their home life.

I’ll finish with some good news. Investing in employee mental health and wellness is a seriously good investment. This from the OSHA study: For every $1 spent on ordinary mental health concerns, employers see a $4 return in productivity gains.

So pass me a mai tai and a good book. I’ll see you on the beach.