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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 4 of 4
"They can take time off whenever they want," CEO Jim Sheward says. "We expect them to be responsible in not overburdening the team by taking excessive vacation. We don't even track it." The approach, he adds, is built on respect and the golden rule.
Vacationgoers and workplace experts alike attest to the restorative power of down time, with no alarm clocks, meetings, or rush-hour commutes.
Wallace Huffman, a professor of labor economics at Iowa State University, has studied men's and women's leisure time and its impact on productivity. He says, "Productivity could increase by up to 60 percent for employees in the month or two following a good vacation a week or two long."
Yet Pfeffer, the Stanford professor, believes that any major changes in vacation policy will require government action. "We'd have to look more like other industrialized countries, with a stronger mandate to provide paid vacation and limit work hours," he says.
Making a persuasive case for time off, Armstrong says, "Whatever you're doing on vacation, even if you spend an hour a day on e-mail, it's better than being in the office."
By the numbers: Vacation time
15 Average number of paid vacation days (9) and paid holidays (6) given to US workers each year.
69% of workers earning less than $15 per hour receive paid vacation time, while 88% of workers who earn more do.
45% of US workers did not use all of their vacation allotted in 2006, and 15% of workers lost at least one of their vacation days, claiming they didn't have time to use it.
43% of workers say they don't get enough paid vacation.
Source: The Center for Economic Policy Research "No-Vacation Nation," May 2007; Yahoo HotJobs survey of 1,800 professionals; CareerBuilder.com survey of 6,823 private sector employees.
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