UNITED STATES—It’s sad to even acknowledge that the summer months are quickly dwindling down and before you know it school will be back in session and things will be back to business as normal. Reports have continued to surface each day that more and more Americans are taking less vacations or time off from work. Why is that? Why are so many people hesitant to take time off from work?
We live in fear that if we take time off, it could lead to our demise at our place of employment. We have to shake that theory from our mindset. Many of us work for companies where we have paid vacations; others work for companies where paid vacations are not common nature. Anyone who works in my opinion is entitled to a vacation. Excessive work only leads to employees burning out way sooner than expected. If those at the top of the corporate ladder are quick to take a vacation without any worry, why in the hell should the person at the bottom of the ladder be concerned about taking a week off when they’re entitled to it?
Well we live in a world where we tend to promote this false fallacy of bad things happening when one is away. Could you even imagine going 12 months without a single day off from your place of employment? Sounds bananas right, it is and what’s worse is that it could send the most loyal employees venturing down a dark path because when you burn out, you burn out.
It can take a significant amount of time to recuperate from the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual stress that one’s body may have endured during the time frame. I mean overseas, they are encouraged by their employers to take time off and they actually do it. Too bad the United States doesn’t seem to echo that sentiment. It’s almost like employers plant that seed of doubt into the minds of their employees that taking time off could hurt their chances of getting that promotion they have been aiming for or that raise that they have been eagerly working towards.
Most of us work 5-6 days a week, and there are even some cases where we’re working 7 days a week, anywhere from 12-16 hours per day. We’re spending more time at work than we are spending at home. Tell me what’s the problem with that? We’re living to work versus working to live. Now where is the fun in that, there isn’t any people. I’m a believer a person needs to have 2-3 days off every 3-4 weeks (in addition to those normal days off). It just allows the body to rejuvenate itself and that rejuvenation can bring an entirely new perspective when it comes to life and the notion of work in general. Especially, for those of us working those dead end jobs that we are not that fond of.
Workers tend to respect their bosses more when it becomes apparent that the employer cares about the concerns of those who work for them. Remember, without workers there is no company. Personally, I can care less when or where a person vacations, the key is you NEED to take vacations that you’ve earned. Don’t just let those vacations disappear. Rather it’s a tropical escape, or just staying at home for a several days to clean the house or tackle some new project, any time off is better than no time off at all.
The most important thing I have to point out is when you vacation; it’s just that, a vacation (that means you’re not supposed to be doing any work). If you’re working than what is the point of taking a vacation people!
