When's the last time you heard of someone who left for vacation for more than a day or two and did NOT check in with the office or check email AT ALL? I'm guessing not very often. How about someone who had to (or was forced to) cancel vacation plans at the last minute because of a "crisis" at work? I know I've seen this one many times. Or what about someone who had a bunch of vacation time banked and was scrambling at the end of the year to try and take vacation days because they would lose them come 1/1? All. The. Time. We have become the no vacation nation. The results of a recent Expedia vacation survey were not good, but not surprising either. MSN has a good summary.
The long-term solution to this insanity simply boils down to making the CHOICE to prioritize vacation. Yes, there are valid issues to consider such as understaffing, job security, and cost. However, the positives of taking vacation greatly outweigh the negatives. Ultimately, a recharged, energized employee can bring much more to the table than a tired, burnt out one. And let's not minimize the positive impact taking a vacation can have on your health and personal relationships. Maybe if we took more vacations, we wouldn't need to take so many pills? Hey maybe that would look good on a t-shirt! Oh wait, it already is.
Bottom line, we need to personally define the things that are non-negotiable in our lives. And vacation time should be one of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment