A new term has found its way into the American lexicon.
Staycation.
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Added to the 2009 version of Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, it refers to the notion of a stay-at-home vacation. Frequently, staycation is interchangeably co-mingled with its companion term, daycation.
Why Summer Holidays in Decline
A recent study conducted by three Rutgers University professors has concluded that the American tradition of the summer getaway is careening towards extinction. As we push towards the second decade of the 21st century, more Americans are taking fewer vacations than ever before.
Most Americans old enough to remember the moon landing fondly recall their family road trips; a station wagon packed to the gills, highway diners, corny roadside attractions and crappy motels. It was great.
The Rutgers study found that Americans have become increasingly cautious about taking time off. According to their survey, in the past five years, American workers have become progressively more worried that their jobs may vanish even while they are away on the shortest of vacations.
Unfortunately, for many Americans in 2009 that fear is based on a grim reality.
We’ve become a nation of workaholics. Of all the world’s industrialized nations, Americans take the fewest number of vacations.
Other than the Guyanas, Nepal and Myanmar (formerly Burma), the United States is the only country without a paid vacation law. Thirty percent of Americans don’t get any paid vacation; half of us get one week or less per year.
Extended vacations, long a venerated tradition in Europe and other industrialized countries, never has taken hold on American soil.
Finland workers get a minimum of 30 days paid vacation plus 14 holidays a year. All members of the European Union must provide workers with a minimum of 20 paid vacation days a year plus public holidays.
In contrast, larger American companies typically will provide long-tenured fulltime employees with up to 15 days paid vacation and 10 days of paid holidays.
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A study conducted by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), found the norm to be much lower when considering companies of all sizes and workers of all tenures. When all of these factors were considered, the CEPR study found that the real average was 9 days of paid vacation with 6 days of paid holidays.
We Americans are a productive lot.
What a Work Ethic
American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations. Americans produce more per person over the year. With the exceptions of the Norwegians, American workers get more done per hour than any other group.
Psychologists and medical researchers, however, are finding that our obsession with work and lack of time off is taking its toll.
Stress-related illnesses have become more common than ever among American workers. While relatively little is known about these disorders, there is mounting evidence that they have caused a significant escalation in health costs and even a drop in productivity.
The Rutgers study provided several anecdotal instances demonstrating a rise in productivity at companies that have increased their vacation policies.
Companies like IBM are so adamant about employee vacations that they have implemented a strict Use It or Lose It policy. Surprisingly, many companies have reported a correlation between increased vacation time and a reduction in overtime costs.
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IBM also found that good vacation policy begets loyalty. According to internal studies produced at the company, a 5 percent boost in employee retention may increase earnings by up to 25 percent.
American companies based in Europe haven’t had to stop doing business there because vacation laws make it impossible for them to succeed.
Publisher Random House is owned by a German parent company. Company policy grants employees five weeks of paid vacation per year.
With the company facing cutbacks due to the recession, the one benefit most Random House employees held dearest was their vacation. Many said they even would be willing to surrender a portion of the pay they receive while on vacation so long as the amount of time off to which they were entitled was not reduced.
Changes in American attitudes and policies towards the value of vacation will be slow in coming. With the nation still in the grip of a recession, the chances of a federal law guaranteeing Americans more vacation are slimmer still.
It’s summer…
A guy can dream.
John Cohn is a senior partner in the Globe West Financial Group, based in West Los Angeles. He may be contacted at www.globewestfinancial.com
