Take a Break

Ah, summer. Summer used to conjure images of long lazy days, playing in the sun, no school or homework, and the family vacation. No longer. Nearly 36 percent of American workers skip their vacations, according to Families and Work Institute (FWI) research.

 

While 79 percent of American workers have access to paid vacations, over a third do not take them. According to Expedia.com, the average paid vacation in the U.S. is 14 days per year. But compared to other countries such as Germany (35 days), France (37 days) and Italy (42 days), U.S. vacations seem paltry.

 

Some of the reasons Americans give up their vacation days include the increased work that awaits them when they return, fears of losing face with the boss, fears that another worker jockeying for their position will replace them or some say they would prefer payment for their vacation days.

 

Carla Jackson started her own business three years ago. “I’m constantly thinking about my business—selling, dealing with clients, networking,” she says. “The biggest trade-off for me is that I’m never really off. I’m thinking about my business twenty-four/seven.”

 

The FWI study revealed that 1 in 3 American workers feel overworked as a chronic condition. High levels of job stress pose a threat to the health of workers; they experience more symptoms of clinical depression, miss more days of work due to illness, lose focus while working and are more likely to make mistakes at work.

 

World Health Organization predicts that by 2020, clinical depression will replace cancer as the second greatest cause of death and disability. Heart disease ranks number one, which has also been linked to stress.

 

Some workers who take vacation also take their work with them. One can see them sitting poolside, donning a headset with their sunglasses, hunched over a laptop perched on the adjoining beach chair.

 

Fifty-five percent of employees who work while they are on vacation experience job related stress symptoms the FWI study found. One remedy to get an actual vacation during your vacation is to limit accessibility. Some companies discourage e-mails and phone calls to workers on vacation, and others even go so far as to and confiscate cell phones, PDAs, laptops and beepers.

 

So take a break this summer, and remember, no one on their deathbed ever said their one regret was they didn’t spend more time at the office.

 

Gretchen Gregg