Labor
Day marks the end of Vacation
Don
Schmitz/Human Resource Staffing
Labor
Day is an historical holiday in honor of the American worker.
It also marks the end of the summer vacation time. Have you
taken your vacation yet?
Many
Americans will couple Labor Day with two or three days of
vacation. Three and four-day vacations are replacing the once-a-year,
two-week vacation for U.S. workers, according to Chicago-based
outplacement consultant firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas
Inc. Many Americans don't use the vacation they have. With
more dual income families, scheduling a common vacation around
a family of scheduled activities can be difficult.
The United States is the only developed country that does
not have a paid vacation law. The US worker works longer hours
and more days than any other country. In the United States
, vacation, like other benefits, is negotiated between employer
and employee. Because vacation in other countries is legislated,
it essentially has been removed as a factor in the employment
relationship.
Europeans,
on average, work the fewest hours. France for example, requires
employers to provide 30 days of paid leave. According to the
Center for Economic and Policy Research, 28 million Americans
— or about a quarter of the work force — don't get any paid
vacation. By October 24 of any given year, the average American
or Canadian will have worked as many hours as the average
European will in the entire year.
Why
do Americans work so much?
Recently
on vacation at the cabin in Northern Wisconsin , I witnessed
my family working and checking their email as part of their
daily vacation activities and I didn't think anything of it.
Some people believe the American workaholic tendency is contributing
to an unhealthy worker and unhealthy families.
Technology
continues to enable this 24/7 mentality. Laptops, pagers,
cell phones, personal digital assistants and BlackBerry devices
have become “e-leashes” that virtually tether some employees
to the office even while they are supposedly on vacation.
The lure of e-mail is hard to resist and many vacationers
check their email frequently after hours and on vacation.
However,
the pressure employees feel to be present physically during
regular business hours might be lessening, as flexible work
arrangements such as telecommuting garner greater employer
acceptance.
Most
Americans do work a lot. They do so because of America 's
competitive job market. Workers in America know there are
plenty of other job seekers willing to work twice as long
for the same pay.
In
the short term, then, the trend toward less vacation appears
likely to remain the rule. But with the economy struggling
and people worried about their jobs, demonstrating a commitment
to work translates into working longer hours and taking less
leave.
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Reproduction
of this article cannot be accomplished without the expressed
consent of Human Resource Staffing. Don Schmitz is a popular
speaker and writer on all aspects of HR and CEO of Human Resource
Staffing. Don holds graduate degrees in Education, Administration
and Human Development.
Contact Don@HumanResourceStaffingInc.com
952 854 6040
