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For US workers, a vacation deprivation
About one-third of American workers won't use all of their vacation time this year. Among the reasons: They're too busy, and they can't afford to travel.
from the June 4, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 4
"Last year I went to Naples, Fla., for a week and sat on the beach with my BlackBerry," Throckmorton says. "It was probably more relaxing for me because I had a sense of what was going on at the office. A lot of people will say, 'My husband or wife won't let me take the BlackBerry.' I don't have anybody helping to set that parameter for me."
Brett West, vice president of a media-relations firm in Alexandria, Va., learned a vacation lesson the hard way. He stayed in the office the week between Christmas and New Year's, when the company was shut down, to help a client. Although he later received financial compensation from his boss, he says, "It's best to take the time that you're given for vacation or holidays. Make sure you've got vacation plans, and stick to them as much as you can without it being detrimental to your livelihood. You can never buy back those lost days. You can never buy back your family time."
This year Mr. West is taking his own advice. Two weeks ago, he returned from a trip to Germany, and he's already making plans for the holidays.
Phil Armstrong, managing director of a consulting firm in Washington, D.C., received "kind of a wake-up call" last month when the human resources department notified him that he must use nine days of vacation by the end of the fiscal year in June or forfeit the time. The company maintains a use-it-or-lose-it vacation policy.
Later in the summer, Mr. Armstrong and his family plan to spend a week or more on Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts. Noting the advantages of longer stretches away from the office, he says, "On the rare occasion when I'm able to take two complete weeks, it's really the second week that's most enjoyable. It's when you adjust to the reality that you're not as indispensable as you think you are and get to the point when you can decompress."
That also benefits families. Referring to his two young children, Armstrong says, "They need more Dad time."
Most companies offering paid vacation specify the number of days. Fiberlink, a technology company in Blue Bell, Pa., has no formal policy for its 215 employees.
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