Vacation deprivation: More employees are leaving their vacation time unused

Aah, vacation. Just the thought of it conjures up visions of strolls along the beach, delicious dining experiences, hiking, fishing or taking a cruise to an exotic locale. But if you're like many of us, those get-away-from-it-all visions have been clouded with a constantly spinning hamster wheel of frenzied work responsibilities and many times, the electronic tether of cell phone, laptop and voice mail -- even while "on vacation" -- or worse yet, not even scheduling the time to take a vacation.

A 2006 online survey conducted by travel agency Expedia.com confirms that America's workforce is in a rut when it comes to taking time off. Even though 36 percent of survey respondents said they feel better about their job and are more productive when they return from a vacation, 33 percent of U.S. workers don't always use their accrued vacation time. The survey showed that U.S. workers gave back approximately 574 million vacation days in 2006 -- an average of four unused vacation days per employed adult age 18 and older.

A separate survey that the agency conducted in April of last year revealed workers' attitudes toward use of vacation days in other countries. Similar to their U.S. counterparts, a portion of Canadian workers have trouble leaving the job behind. In the United States, 19 percent cancel or postpone vacation because of work; in Canada, 22 percent do so. However, in Britain, workers receive 24 days of vacation and leave one day unused, while workers in Germany receive 27 days and only leave one day unused. In France, workers receive 39 days and leave only two days unused.

Why working vacations aren't working
The SHRM/CareerJournal.com 2006 Workplace Vacation online poll was conducted to determine opinions about employees' time off from the perspective of both human resource professionals and employees. The poll reveals these important findings:

• HR professionals indicated that while on vacation, middle-management-level and executive-level employees at their organizations were expected to stay connected to the organization more than non-management employees.
• HR professionals reported that the top three methods organizations provided for their employees to stay connected while on vacation were cellular phones/pagers, laptops and BlackBerry/handheld devices.
• Seventy percent of employees responded that they were opting to take long weekend vacations instead of being out of the workplace for longer periods of time.

Although it's easier for employees to stay connected to the workplace while on vacation, HR professionals need to ensure that employees use their vacation time away from the workplace. Without breaks from the workplace, it is likely that employees are not performing at their optimum level. Lack of time away from the workplace can lead to stress, anxiety, emotional problems and physical ailments. And, in the long run, this will negatively impact an organization's productivity, health care costs, turnover and overall bottom line.

Certified Wellness Coach for Ceridian Lifeworks, Carol Filkins, MS, agrees. "We are corporate athletes. In regular athletics, there is an off-season during which the athletes are doing something different. At the most, corporate athletes take a few days off at a time. You can't expect that to renew you. It's about zeroing in on what you as an individual need for respite. It could be eating nourishing food, being connected to a spiritual practice or moving your body in physical activity. You must become more aware of what you are doing because you can't change anything you're not aware of. Pushing too much makes you reach a point of diminishing returns."

The new phobia
So why are many employees afraid of scheduling longer vacations? Corporate downsizing, job insecurity and fast-moving workplace environments are partly to blame.

"People don't get rewarded for taking vacations, but they do get rewarded for working long hours," said Filkins. "Even in so called 'secure' jobs, things don't feel secure anymore and many employees worry about what might happen if they are gone for a week. And employees who are high achievers may feel like taking a vacation makes them look like a slacker. But people need to have balance to be creative. When you disengage from activities, you open your mind."

We also have become a society that pushes us to multitask and stay constantly busy with activity, whether productive or not. In a January 2006 Time Magazine article, "The Perils of Multitasking," Dr. Edward Hallowell, a psychiatrist in Sudbury, Massachusetts, has seen the fallout of multitasking mania. Over the past decade, he has seen a tenfold rise in the number of patients showing up with symptoms that closely resemble those of attention deficit disorder (ADD) -- of a work-induced variety. Patients were more irritable than they wanted to be, their productivity was declining and they couldn't get organized.

But Hallowell, an ADD expert and coauthor of several best-selling books on the subject, including 1994's Driven to Distraction, noticed something different about his new cases. Unlike patients with typical ADD, which persists no matter the setting, the new patients felt frantic only in certain situations -- mainly in the workplace. In a Harvard Business Review article in January 2005, Hallowell gave the condition a name: attention deficit trait (ADT). He explains that ADT takes hold when we get so overloaded with incoming messages and competing tasks that we are unable to prioritize. The result is not only distractibility, impulsiveness and haste, but also feelings of guilt and inadequacy.

So how do employees get off the work overload treadmill? For starters, they can accept life as it is and remember that this is no longer the type of world where you get the gold watch for 40 years of service. We are in a world that changes, and change isn't always bad.

"Employees need to remember that they have to be doing things that don't put all of their value in one basket. You are more than your job," urged Filkins. "While it's important to do a good job and not leave loose ends behind before you go on vacation, you don't have to take your laptop and BlackBerry. And you don't have to do everything 110 percent. We need to be kinder and gentler with ourselves and stop the perfectionism."

Stress is at an all-time high among the workforce. Fortunately, there's help for your employees with Ceridian's Lifeworks Services. By providing employees with tools, resources and support for everyday living, your company will realize increased productivity, improved morale, greater retention, better recruiting and lower employment costs. Your employees have instant online access to valuable resources on topics such as financial wellness, parenting, legal issues and work. Have questions? Contact your Ceridian representative for details.