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MAY 30, 2001

WORK & FAMILY
By Pamela Mendels

Take a Break -- Please!
Employees who forgo vacation time are cheating themselves and their families -- and they're not doing the boss any favors, either


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It seems like a bargain for you, the small-business owner: Your employees are so busy they forego all or part of their vacation. Isn't this great? After all, that paid time off comes out of your bank account.

This is one gift horse you should look in the mouth, according to a recent study, Feeling Overworked: When Work Becomes Too Much. It was released earlier this month by the Families and Work Institute, a research group headquartered in New York City, and the results are based on a survey taken in March of 1,003 working adults.

A number of the findings are disturbing. For example, 28% reported they had felt overworked "often" or "very often" in the past three months. Similar numbers reported having felt overwhelmed by the amount of work they faced. There's one finding that astounds me as we embark on the post-Memorial Day summer holiday season: More than 25% of workers report they've passed up some of the vacation time to which they're entitled because of job demands.

CONSEQUENCES.  Which leads me back to gift horses. There are at least three possible costly consequences of your accepting your employees' seemingly generous sacrifices. The study found that those who don't use their vacation time are far more likely to report feeling overworked. And those suffering from overwork are more likely to:

(1) report having made mistakes at work
(2) be job-hunting
(3) suffer from all kinds of health problems, including lack of sleep, high levels of stress, and neglecting their own well-being.

Aren't you paying enough for your company's medical plan? Gil Gordon, a long-time consultant to companies on telecommuting and the author of Turn It Off -- How to Unplug from the Anytime-Anywhere Office without Disconnecting Your Career, cites another issue: The person who takes time off returns to work not only refreshed but, if you're lucky, with a new perspective. That great idea for how to penetrate a new market or streamline an office task could well have been born on the beach, not in an office cubicle.

USE IT OR LOSE IT.  Just consider another study finding: 29% of respondents say they're often too busy to step back and reflect on their work. As an entrepreneur, you should encourage the type of innovation that comes from the relaxed and clearheaded. So why not find ways to encourage your employees to take those two weeks in the sun? Gordon says one reason why some companies have a use-it-or-lose-it vacation policy is to send the message that the boss regards an annual break from work as essential, not optional.

I would make another suggestion for how to usher your troops out the door. Set an example. You busy-as-a-beaver entrepreneurs probably need vacation time even more than your employees. "Well," you might sputter, "I have a business to run. I can't afford to take time off." To which I respond: See list above. Then consider whether you can afford not to.


Pamela Mendels is based in New York City. She wrote about small business and had a workplace advice column at Newsday, and has written about workplace matters for BusinessWeek, Working Woman, and the Web site iGuide.
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