Associated Press
11-28-07
Americans finding less time, need to vacation
BY EILEEN ALT POWELL
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - Nancy Kirk doesn't have anything against vacations; she just
doesn't consider them worth the effort.
"Two weeks sitting in the middle of London? I don't think so," Kirk said. "The idea
of staying at home is really, really appealing."
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 downtime 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.
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."
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 - 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.
Huffman warns that there's a risk is not scheduling vacations.
"In the short run, it can reduce productivity," he said. "It's critical that people take
periodic vacations that allow their minds - and their bodies - to rest."
Jared Wadley, a public relations specialist at the University of Michigan, said he
wasn't interested in vacations even as a child.
Now 39 and married with young children, he still doesn't take traditional vacations
- although he has more than 40 days of accumulated days due him.
He not a workaholic, he says, but instead paces himself so that leisure is part of
his day-to-day life.
He takes the occasional half-day off during the summer to golf with his father.
Weekends, he says, are about "quality time with my family." That means playing
with his sons, who are 4 and 6, and getting them to soccer and T-ball games.
When the family travels, he tries to time the trip so he's away from the office for
no more than a day or two, he said.
"You have to look at why people take vacations," Wadley said. "They want to get
away from the office, but I enjoy my work so I don't want to get away from it.
They want to relieve stress; I don't get stressed out about life."
He added: "I don't think it's bad to take vacation. You have to go with what works
for you."