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Is vacation time important to doing well at work?

By: Tammy Stankey | 07/30/2008

As I was driving to work listening to KWMU I heard a statistic on American Public Radio's Marketplace Morning Report that surprised me: According to a poll taken in April by the Conference Board, fewer than 40 percent of Americans planned a summer vacation this year – the lowest measurement of planned vacation in 30 years. Perhaps more startling to me was that the average American worker earns just 14 days for vacation in a year. I went online and found this CNN report listing the U.S. second to last (above Vietnam) for minimum paid vacation. Reviewing the list was interesting. For example, I know my Canadian in-laws that work for the government receive four – six weeks paid vacation per year – something not represented on this chart.

Fortunately for me, I've been at Standing for nearly 10 years and have earned four weeks of vacation. But what about those who, for a variety of reasons, have to change jobs every three-or-so years? Is two weeks of vacation adequate to maintain a high level of productivity, job satisfaction and still address the needs at home? In today's economy, are people willing and able to take vacations? What do you think?

Posted in Where We Stand, Where We Stand