June 14, 2007
Who gets vacation time and why we all need more holidays
We've talked about vacation time before, but this article has an interesting country by country comparison. It looks like Finland and France make sure workers get plenty of vacation time.
Of course the real issue is what kind of work you do. When I was a kid I thought that teaching was a good gig because of summer and winter vacation. I have a friend in the Air Force who gets 30 days vacation and university professors can get 4-5 months.
Back to Americans and their too short vacations, this article speculates on the financial implications of shorter vacations:
John A. Challenger, of the Chicago-based consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said the trend toward weekend trips could hurt expensive and distant vacation destinations and help local attractions....They also point out that vacations are pretty expensive, especially for families who according to AAA "would spend an average of $650 a day — $9,100 for two weeks — on food and lodging in Hawaii this year. The same family would spend $611 per day in Washington, D.C., and $345 per day in Rhode Island" (for a family of four).“Where this will hurt is places like Hawaii and Las Vegas, where so many fly to get there,” said David Jackson, of the Bucks County Conference and Visitors Bureau. “In our scenario in Bucks County, this could kind of work in our favor.”
This article reminds us why we need to spend a little money on vacation: "Companies are beginning to realize the benefits of vacations for their weary workers - fewer sick days, smaller health care bills and a more motivated workforce." Of course, you also have to wonder how many vacationers are still working on vacation. I know when I'm on vacation I'm always looking for stuff to blog about on here. Not that I'm complaining - I think I do a good job keeping my life fairly low stress (although that stray dog is still driving me a bit nuts).
I imagine that the readers here, like me, know how important it is to travel a bit. And this is true not only for corporate types but also for people who get their stress from raising kids.
Posted by James Trotta at June 14, 2007 1:33 PM | TrackBack
Just because you have "vacation" days that does not mean you have to travel. Taking a 3 weekend after a project is over and just sleeping in an extra day can be beneficial. It can also allow you to catch up on things around the house or spend time with family.
Posted by: GPS at June 15, 2007 5:30 PM