Fake Vacation or None at All?

Posted by: Cathy Arnst on May 22, 2009

Dreaming about your summer vacation? Well, stop. According to the outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas, employees who are actually foolish enough to take a vacation in these perilous economic times should stay connected to the office if they don’t want to be out of a job when they return. So be sure to take your cell phone, laptop, pager and electronic organizer wherever you go.

Oh dear oh dear. Just when we need a vacation more than ever, we can’t have one. According to CareerBuilder’s annual vacation survey, 35% of workers are not taking a vacation this year; 71% of those say they can’t afford it. Additionally, close to one in five workers said they are either afraid of losing their jobs if they go on vacation or feel guilty being away from the office. Other sad findings from the survey of 4,435 U.S. workers, done between Feb 20 and March 11:

Half (50%) of employers say they expect employees to check in with the office while they are away, with 40% indicating it’ll be necessary only if they are working on a big project or if there is a major issue going on with the company. Close to three-in-ten (28%) say they plan to contact the office at least once, regardless of what they are working on, while they are on vacation.

How much do you want to bet that the majority of companies will tell any employee foolish to ask that, “of course there is a big project or major issue going on, better stay in touch. And why not take some work with you while you’re at it?”

Here’s some discomforting words of advice from Challenger Gray:

The advice of wellness experts who urge workers to cut off all contact with the office while on vacation would be fine in a Utopian world. But we live in the fiercely competitive real world, where employers cannot afford to put any piece of business in jeopardy because you are purposely unreachable. Now is a particularly bad time to provoke any doubt about your commitment, because the pool of available, skilled replacements grows daily.

I learned about the Challenger press release on the ZDNet blog Between The Lines. The entry, appropriately titled The Just Shoot Me Vacation, has some pretty funny comments:

The general theme of Challenger’s advice isn’t to actually work, but to look like you’re working. That’s productive. Here’s Challenger’s advice with my comments in italics: * Arrange with your hotel to have a fax machine installed in your room. Chain hotels favored by business guests already have done so. Yes, your boss will be damn impressed that you have a fax machine in your room—especially since he hasn’t used one since 1995. * While most of the large hotels now offer Internet connections (some free, some for a fee), some of the smaller hotels and motels favored by budget-conscious travelers may not. Prior to leaving, visit websites that can help you locate Wi-Fi hotspots near your hotel. Translation: Spend your vacation in Starbucks.

Keep reading for more of blogger Larry Dignan’s take on the Paranoid Holiday.

Now, I admit, to me vacation is sacred. I worked for Reuters News Service for many years, where the Brits, God love ‘em, gave everyone 6 weeks vacation the day they started. Spoiled me for life. I of course am taking vacation, and I’m only bringing my laptop so I can look up recipes while on the beach (well, I might check an email or two, but I’ll fight the urge, really I will). What are your plans? Vacation, staycation, no-cation or working “vacation?” And anyone have any tips on how to fake work while on your real vacation?

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