Vacation: Fear & Loathing Of A Day Off

As I have spent the last three weeks dealing with the consequences 4 days personal vacation for myself from the radio show I produce, 4 days of vacation for one of the host of said program, special programming for today's company holiday to cover all the talk hosts having the day off, and the mythical comp day that comes from me working yet another holiday. Believe it or not, as hard as it is doing double work to cover for missing persons in the studio, I barely survived my own time off, even with a little cheating by calling my fill-in producer twice a day...for the sake of her sanity, honest... With the building completely empty for most of the day, and just about no one to interrupt me, I pulled up some information on vacations that we have used on the show a part of the build up to summer. Not to my surprise, many American workers surveyed have a similar out look as I to vacation time. According to a telephone survey based on a sample of 618 small-business owners conducted by American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) , two-thirds of small-business owners are planning to take at least one full week of vacation this summer, though more than half plan to check in with their business at least once a day while gone. Only 25 percent of business owners say they will not check in at all on vacation, which is what I said two weeks ago. Did I mention that I actually stopped by the station one day... The problem with missing a day of work is the fear you are going to miss something important. In this survey, 31 percent of respondents said they worry about missing an important business opportunity, while 26 percent were actually worried about judgment calls their staff might make while they are away. 31 percent of the small-business owners surveyed said they will find a way to mix vacation time with business opportunities save time and money. This is down from 34 percent in 2005. Need more? Harris Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ:HPOL) and Ipsos Reid conducted Expedia.com's sixth annual Vacation Deprivation Survey for Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) , which once again rates American workers the most vacation-deprived in the world. This survey says Americans are likely to give up a total of 574 million vacation days in 2006, with comes out to one vacation day forfeited for each employee 18 and older. The survey found that the France, Germany and Australia scored the highest in receiving and using up their vacation days. Employed adults in France received an average of 39 days of vacation each year, with 40 percent taking a three- to four-week vacation during the summer months. In Germany, the average employed adult used 26 of their 27 vacation days, placing vacation as a priority over work. And at home, 38 percent of employed U.S. adults report regularly working more than 40 hours per week. Many Americans agree that vacations are necessary for their emotional and mental well-being. 36 percent of Americans surveyed reported that they felt better about their job and more productive upon returning from vacation...once they work up the nerve to actually get away. - Vacation Comes But They Can't Stay Sway (Chicago Tribune) - US Workers The Most Vacation-Deprived In The World, Study Says (Occupational Hazards) Go Ahead Tours