THE WORKING LIFE
Sharon Linstedt: Don’t forget to use your vacation time to recharge
Updated: 06/16/08 8:18 AM
With the summer vacation clock ticking loudly, it’s time to figure out how to cram some rest and relaxation into your work life.
Sadly, most of us won’t completely succeed at that effort, according to a survey that indicates American workers will leave unused some 460 million 2008 vacation days. That adds up to an average of three “wasted” days per worker.
In its eighth annual “Vacation Deprivation” poll, Expedia.com found that more than 47 million U. S. employees — roughly equal to the combined populations of California and Illinois — will forgo some vacation time.
But that doesn’t mean we’re an “anti-vacation” nation. Ninety-two percent of respondents said they feel they’ve earned their down time.
A majority even said their bosses weren’t stopping them from taking it. And most of us praise the regenerative virtues of getting our heads and bodies out of the work environment.
“The research is clear: Despite leaving days unusued, Americans believe in the restorative power of taking time off, as well as their employers’ attitudes around taking the days they earn,” Expedia.com President Paul Brown said in a statement regarding the annual vacation survey.
As in prior polls, workers offer a variety of reasons for giving up vacation time. The most-often mentioned barriers to time off include:
• Failure to schedule vacation time in advance (12 percent);
• Getting money back for unused days off (11 percent);
• Work is your life and it’s too hard to get away (9 percent).
The survey also found U. S. employees tend to divide their time off into one full “power week,” utilizing the rest of their vacation bank as days sprinkled across the calendar to make long weekends or extend holiday breaks.
As in 2007, the average U. S. worker has 14 vacation days this year. Just across the Canadian border, our counterparts get an average of 17 vacation days annually.
But if you want a real “vacation envy” complex, consider the vacation banks of European workers. France tops the list with an average of 37 days, followed by Italy (33 days), Spain (31), the Netherlands and Austria (28), Germany (27) and Great Britain (26).
But like workaholic Americans, they don’t use all the time they have coming either. Italian workers leave an average of six days on the table.
A similar Vacation 2008 poll by Careerbuilder. com found that even U. S. workers who take the vacation time they have coming don’t always make a clean getaway. One-quarter of vacationers admit they will check work e-mail or voice mail when they are off, up from 20 percent in its 2007 survey.
Challenger Gray & Christmas, a Chicago- based employment consultant firm, urges workers, even those struggling to cope with staff cutbacks and rising personal expenses, to squeeze in some personal time. Suggestions for maximizing time off include:
• Use an already-scheduled long weekend, such as the Fourth of July, to plan a break. The fewer days you have to take off, the better. Spending a day at nearby park or forest preserve with a picnic lunch can refresh you for work on Monday.
• If you generally do some work on the weekends, choose one to turn off your phone and laptop for the entire time. Let business associates know you will be unavailable.
• Plan regular BBQs or backyard parties with friends and family on the weekends. Give yourself something to look forward to.
