Americans are vacation-deprived. Unlike 127 other countries, the United States has no federal law mandating that companies guarantee workers paid vacation.
According to a report from the Center for Economic Policy Research, workers enjoy on average a mandated vacation time of at least five weeks in Western Europe. Canada requires a minimum two weeks of vacation by law, and Australians have four weeks off by law. Americans have zero. U.S. employees take even less vacation than Japanese, the people who gave rise to karoshi – the phenomenon of being worked to death.
Taking Time Off Benefits Workaholic Americans
The human resources executives say taking a vacation from work is an important way to refresh so to maintain good performance. Bonnie Cook, director of benefits at Fallon Community Health Plan, an insurer and care provider in Worcester, Mass., said employees who take vacation will feel energized and have more creative ideas. “Your return to work can be a highly productive time and feels good!” she wrote in an e-mail interview.
Vacation Brings Stress to Employees
However, sometimes, even on vacation, workers have a hard time leaving the office behind, according to a national poll of 1,575 U.S. workers by Hudson, a worldwide recruitment service. Nearly one in four employees plans to check in via phone or email most days, if not every day, while on vacation, and that increases to 38 percent of managers and 40 percent of entrepreneurs.
“Vacation is a time for renewal and to disconnect from work ‘reality’,” said Cook. “Vacation is necessary for emotional, physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Take the time to be really good to yourself.”
“If you possibly can…while on vacation – truly disconnect,” she said. “Try not to check email, phone messages, or call to check in. If your place of employment really needs your help while you are out, they will reach you.”
Handling Work Before, During or After Vacations
In an Expedia.com survey, 33 percent of American adults said they often have trouble coping with stress from work at some point before, during or after vacations. The survey responses indicate that preparation to be away from the office and handling the aftermath sometimes make workers decide whether it is worthy of taking leave.
“Preparation and planning is important before taking vacation,” said Cook. “It’s a good idea to look at your work calendar and note meetings that you will miss, project deadlines, identify other employees who may be out during the same time, etc. ”
Diana Burrows, who heads HR at eClinicalWorks a medical software company based in Westboro, Mass., suggested workers keep supervisors informed of vacation plan with much notice as possible.
Cook also said that debriefing and sharing information with the supervisor and colleagues really helps ensure that others have the information they need to keep things running smoothly while the person in charge is on vacation.
Upon return, Cook said employees should ease in as gently as they can.
“Talk with your supervisor and colleagues to get caught up on pertinent information,” she said. “It’s helpful to quickly review voice mail messages, email messages and to make priority lists of what you need to accomplish first, second, third…”
If arranged well, taking time off benefits vacation-deprived Americans.
The information in this article was derived from a series of interviews conducted by Kaili Xu.
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