Today’s blog comes in advance of a week’s vacation for yours truly. I am coming off an awesome 2014 and a whirlwind of HOLIDAZE. All good stuff but I need to unplug, chillax and have a nice glass of wine in front of a roaring fire with the snow-capped mountains my only distraction. Then when I return, I can come out re-charged, re-created and re-imagined.
Do you honestly think I won’t have a few calls here and there? That I will cancel my 4 am call to my London client next week? That I won’t be formulating bigger and better plans for all of you? That I won’t be thinking about the title for my next book for the Dude, Seriously trilogy? Of course I will. But I will be doing it in a calm, serene venue with few distractions, regularly scheduled snowshoes and workouts, and lots of down time with family and friends. I don’t owe it only to you. I owe it to myself, so that I can continue to grow with all the people that matter to me and my business. This is not a frivolous luxury for me. It is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY!
And it is for you too! Read on.
Here are the facts folks. Americans are so busy looking over their shoulders at work, they only take half of their paid time off.
“Employees only use 51% of their eligible paid vacation time and paid time off, according to a recent survey of 2,300 workers who receive paid vacation. The survey was carried out by research firm Harris Interactive for the careers website Glassdoor. What’s more, 61% of Americans work while they’re on vacation, A new study has found that U.S. workers forfeited $52.4 billion in time-off benefits in 2013 and took less vacation time than at any point in the past four decades.”
American workers turned their backs on a total of 169 million days of paid time off, in effect “providing free labor for their employers, at an average of $504 per employee,” according to the study.
I truly feel sorry for the company, as much as I do for the employee. They think they are reaping the benefits of an all work, no play mentality, when in reality, they are robbing their culture of creativity, the cornerstone of every great organization.
Don’t be that 51% who can’t figure out a way to take vacation. Your soul needs it. Your brain needs it. Your body needs it.
What are your thoughts? Email me at susan@susanascher.com or comment down below. I want to know!