Associated Press
07-22-07
For many, vacation is a luxury they don't have time for
By EILEEN ALT POWELL
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK — Nancy Kirk doesn't have anything against vacations; she just
doesn't consider them worth the effort.
Years ago, when her children were young, she remembers spending a week at a
cottage. Seven days of preparing meals in an unfamiliar kitchen and worrying
about the kids falling into the lake led her to the conclusion that "there's no rest in
this."
So instead of taking vacations, Kirk, 60, who owns an antique quilt and fabric
business in Omaha, Neb., works down time into her everyday life — from taking
an afternoon nap if she feels like it to occasionally tacking a day onto a business
trip for sightseeing.
"I've designed my life to give me the freedom to schedule my own time," she
said. "I don't want to separate work and the rest of my life like most people do."
Many Americans seem to eschew traditional vacations — a trend that has some
experts worried that workers are not getting away from their jobs to relax and
recharge, both physically and mentally.
The reasons vary, from having too few vacation days available to lacking money
for travel. But in some cases, it seems, many people just aren't getting into the
habit of getting away.
A recent study by Orbitz, the online travel company, found a drop in the number
of people taking three-week or two-week vacations and an increase in those
taking a week or less. One-third of respondents said they took five or fewer days
of vacation in the past year.
One in four of those surveyed said they felt their bosses did not encourage them
to take vacations, and one in three said they stayed connected with their office
via phone or computer while on holiday.
"Our sense is that people are busier than ever with their lives, their family
activities, their kids," said Jeanenne Diefendorf of Orbitz. "So they find it difficult
to take an extended vacation and easier to balance if they're only gone a couple
of days."
But, she added, "they're missing the benefits of unplugging from the workplace
for at least a week."
Wallace Huffman, a professor at Iowa State University in Ames who is a
specialist in labor economics, said Americans work longer hours than their
European counterparts. While many Europeans take four to six weeks of
vacation — often including the entire month of August when factories close —
many Americans take no vacation at all, Huffman said.
He said it can be difficult for working couples to coordinate time off, and that
some people worry that they'll fall hopelessly behind at work if they take even a
few days off. There's also technology that can keep some people connected to
their jobs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — creating the sense they can never
get away.
Huffman warns that there's a risk is not scheduling vacations.
"In the short run, it can reduce productivity," he said. "And people are living
longer and have to think seriously about working more years," he said. "That
means it's critical that people take periodic vacations that allow their minds —
and their bodies — to rest."
For people like Kirk, the antique quilt expert, there were so many work and family
activities to keep her busy that there wasn't time for vacation. In the 1980s, she
and her husband Bill were starting their business. Then they adopted and raised
two children while building the business, which included traveling to trade shows.
He died of colon cancer in 2003; she's recovering from a heart attack two years
ago and subsequent surgery.
"Two weeks sitting in the middle of London? I don't think so," she said. "The idea
of staying at home is really, really appealing."