Vacation-challenged America

Americans may envy Europeans for their many days off, but how about using the ones they have?

from the June 21, 2007 edition

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The US is the only industrialized nation that does not legally guarantee its workers paid vacation. US workers also receive the least vacation among such nations. In their "No-Vacation Nation" study in May, the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington reports that 1 in 4 private-sector workers gets no paid vacation or paid holidays. That includes part-time workers, about a third of whom do get paid vacation or holidays.

Both employers and employees need to sweep away the myths that they can't "afford" time off, resulting in many vacations being reduced to long weekends.

Rested workers are more productive workers. Productivity can increase by up to 60 percent in the month or two following a vacation, according to Iowa State University economics professor Wallace Huffman. Companies can improve employee creativity and reduce turnover by giving their employees a break.

One reason employees don't take the time they're due is that they don't see others taking it. That's when they need to remember the grade-school admonition of dear Mom: Just because everyone else is doing it (or not doing it), does that mean you should?

Employees find many other reasons to sell themselves short, according to Expedia.com. A common one is financial (12 percent of those surveyed say they hand back unused vacation time for cash). Others say it's too hard to schedule a vacation in advance (13 percent), or that work is just a fact of life and getting away from it is just not possible (10 percent).

But rest, like work, is a natural part of life. This summer, dive into a clear lake or stay home and visit all the museums you keep meaning to. Whatever you do, give yourself a break, and take a break.

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