Why is America the 'no-vacation nation'?

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/05/23/vacation.in.america/index.html?hpt=C2

Except the bums in Congress who get more time off than ANY average citizen and NOTHING gets done when they are at work.

That is the way I worked. I was never able to take a whole week off at a time, even though I received 4 weeks as part of my benefits. I would take days off around a holiday or make a 3 or 4 day weekend. Something always came up. We were allowed to carry over our unused time annually, up to a max of 6 weeks. When I was laid off, I got the 6 weeks, but I was totally burned out.

I can't even imagine how it must be today with employers utilizing skeleton staffs and expecting one person to do the work of 3 or 4. These poor people are lucky if they get the weekend off now.

two words.

Corporate Greed.

We are forced to be slaves to our jobs, that is if you actually have one. The ones who do have them are now even under more pressure to perform seeing as there is a line a mile long of those who would happily replace the worker for no vaca nor benefits.. Its setup this way on purpose. This country should be ashamed if itself. Once a great leader and role model is but a sham run by corporations..

Having laws that give people mandatory vacations. To the GOP that would be socialism.

disgustedwithgovt wrote:Having laws that give people mandatory vacations. To the GOP that would be socialism.

They have "mandatory" vacations. They create their calendar at the beginning of every session and add more weeks to it every year. Before you know it, they will be down to working 2 weeks a year. It's fine for them to do that.

DesperateInRI wrote:

disgustedwithgovt wrote:Having laws that give people mandatory vacations. To the GOP that would be socialism.

They have "mandatory" vacations. They create their calendar at the beginning of every session and add more weeks to it every year. Before you know it, they will be down to working 2 weeks a year. It's fine for them to do that.

DO AS THEY SAY!!! NOT AS THEY DO!!!

The last place I was at you could barely get a vacation. It was at managements whim. Oh, Its not possible due to staffing issues. Well, If we weren't each doing two peoples work we might not have "Staffing Issues" Ya think?

Pardon me, I have been angry all day.

My experience is much like Desperate' was. I had the time, could get long weekends, but it would sometimes not be worth the time, once back getting caught up and the time it took earned me more comp time which was always at management's discretion, so I too, was fried.

Many studies have shown how much more productive people are when they have two days off in a row, doesn't even have to be weekend, just two consecutive days.

About four years ago, just as the economy was starting to show signs of trouble, I had a mandatory conference on HR and benefits. I really wasn't looking forward to another of these sessions, but I was really glad I went. It centered on the how's and why's of people not wanting to leave work for illness, vacation, leaves of abscense, family leave etc.

1. In general, people in the last two decades are not that committed to spending that much time with family. This studied not how people are unhappy in their family life, but how they define themselves more as what they do for a living than as a father or mother. Father's have just a slight edge over mother's in this category.

2. People were afraid that leaving for a week, they may come back to major changes in their position or that fear of not having a position to come back to.

3. Families with only one working parent, or one parent working full time and one part time, did not have the money to take a week's vacation without going over budget, so they elect to stay home and do day trips. Many times working parents cannot get the same week vacation. Others must schedule their vacations around their day care center's vacation schedule or they are left paying for a week they won't use and having no care for the week the center itself is closed for vacation. It is not easy to relax.
4. This one really got to me. It made me sad and made me happy at the same time. Those like me, with no children, would take last available so that those with families could schedule the prime times, such as summer (after schools close), Christmas and Easter.

The study further concluded that by-backs for unused vacation time were not good, employees would risk health over money. Many managers do employees a great disservice by making them feel they are indispensable, because rather than making them feel confident, they fear losing that position if they are not there to handle issues that may arise while they are away.

Lastly, they studied a group from companies a,b and c and found that after two years of no significant time off (one week a year) productivity feel among those that these companies felt were there most productive employees. The study also dealt with employees working consistent 50+ hour weeks, which showed significant losses of productivity and an increase in illness.

Wind up is, we don't know how to relax anymore. If you are still working, take your vacations that you are entitled to, even if it's vacation in yardville, usa. You need it, you deserve it and your families and friends need to spend time with you too.

I never could take a vacation even long weekends I was attached to a cell and lap top.. BUT I alway let those who I supervised take vacations and sometimes I would insist when I saw burn out coming. I would pick up the slack while they were off. I knew it was needed.. It was my managers that never let me leave.. NOT even for a Doctors appt.. I was told once when I was so ill that urgent care was open 24 hours.. My fav was I took a day off for a three day wkend and got yelled at because I forgot my cell in the car when we stopped for lunch and missed a call...

Good God, listen to us, we sound nutzo - don't we? But, I was there too. Working over 50 hours per week, always worrying what was going to happen when I was gone. One time, no cell service, so they tracked me down on a land line since I left an emergency number. Called me many times, nothing was an emergency. Stress started making me sick more and more all the time. Manager was also sick all the time, poor woman finally quit. People always doing the flight or fight thing, in really bad moods. Managers burning out left and right. This is all much worse now, but I still want a job.

Profit at any cost and making workers FEARFUL if they take leave. Real nice system the capitalists MADE to lord over us. Yet giving us a European model to work by...well, thats SOCIALISTS and a DOORWAY to communism to their FEAR. So it's better to PROFIT and keep the workers in FEAR and unhappy in this country.