Vacation Deprivation

Did You Know?

People who can't seem to relax and renew on weekends off from work may have a higher long-term risk of dying from heart disease, a research study in Finland suggests. Men and women who said they "seldom" recovered from work fatigue and stress were about three times more likely to die of heart disease or stroke as workers who "almost always" recovered.

Other studies show that the increased stress and fatigue from working long hours and not taking time off can lead to weight gain, cardiovascular problems, chronic fatigue, depression and addiction to alcohol and depressants.

In the US more than one-third of workers will be taking the office with them on vacation this year, according to a recent CareerBuilder.com survey. Sixteen percent of workers say their supervisors expect them to stay in touch while on vacation and 19 percent plan to check in voluntarily. Of these workers, 61 percent will be checking voicemail or email on a daily basis while on vacation.

The United States is the only industrialized country that does not have guaranteed four weeks paid vacation. Australia and Italy are the leaders in mandatory vacation with 6 weeks of paid vacation regardless of how long they have been employed.

Europeans typically take a full month off in the summer. This has not destroyed their economy.

The fastest growing economy in the world, China, offers three weeks off, which they call "Golden Weeks."
-- Joe Robinson www.worktolive.com

One in four workers plans to work while on vacation this year. --CareerBuilder.com

Workers are expected to give back 574 million vacation days this year. --Expedia.com's annual vacation deprivation survey)

The number of vacation days employees are skipping this year increased by one over last year. --Expedia.com's annual vacation deprivation survey

And the Conference Board reported that only 39% of American families are taking a week-long vacation this summer.

Besides dramatically cutting the risk of heart disease, vacations have a number of other health benefits. Vacations have been shown to cure burnout, the last stage of chronic stress. The time away from stressors helps re-gather crashed emotional resources, such as a sense of mastery and optimism. But it takes two weeks for this process to occur, so you need to have real time off to get the recuperative benefits.
--Joe Robinson

Studies have also shown that time off increases positive mood, a sense of initiative, competence, and that the more leisure activities you're involved in the higher your life satisfaction.
--Joe Robinson