Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 12:13PM After our July newsletter on "Return Planning," I thought a little humor about how you should handle vacations in the workplace might be in order. Enjoy!
http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/09/magazines/fortune/stanleybing/how_to_take_a_vacation.fortune/index.htm
Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 09:09AM Geoff Colvin has written an insightful article, comparing the work habits of Americans vs. Germans, and in a broader light, those in the UK. It's entitled, Not So Lazy, After All. For years I too have heard of the long vacations taken by Europeans and the total vacation days they have in a year. Conventional wisdom has been that we Americans simply work harder. Turns out, that's not totally correct. According to one study, we actually work about the same amount. According to the research, We [Americans] do more market-based work, and Germans do more home-based work. Colvin does a superb job defining these differences in the article.
How do our differing purposes affect our lifestyle and culture? Colvin quotes the research done by Freeman and Schettkat: By working long hours and taking short vacations, Americans earn money to buy goods in the market. By working fewer hours and taking long vacations, Germans have more time to produce goods at home. (Example: Germans spend more time preparing meals (work at home) while Americans spend more money on restaurant meals-paid for by market work). Make sure you read the last sentence of the article-it spells out the ultimate impact of acting on purpose.
Interesting how acting on purpose affects us in so many ways.
Monday, August 11, 2008 at 09:00AM I give complete credit of this idea to our friends Michelle and Kevin. I think it is a great way to look at the type of intermissions that we take. They explained to me that they plan two types of vacations. "B Vacations" and "C Vacations." A "B Vacation" is where they go to just relax, take it easy and "be." A "C Vacation" is where they go to "see" things, run from place to place, play hard, etc.
Sometimes it is important to have "Be Vacations" for just recharging our batteries. If we are run down and end up taking a "See Vacation" then we can sometimes come back to work in worse shape than we left. We have all returned from an intermission stating that we need a vacation from the vacation.
Another variation on the theme is to schedule a vacation with the first half being the "see" part and the second half being the "be" part. Take a few days at the end of your vacation to relax, rest your feet and unwind before heading back to your normal routine. You will return from your intermission with renewed energy and ready to tackle the other acts in your circus.
Thursday, June 5, 2008 at 03:26PM With the struggling economy and increased expectations in the workplace, I have found that several people I know are not taking a vacation from work this Summer. Even if they are, their plans often sound like a rushed retreat that will result in them being more tired and less motivated than when they left.
I found an intriguing article about the need to take a break from work:
Recession Fears Threaten Worker's Vacation Plans
The authors, Milo and Thuy Sindell, give the following fantastic rationale for taking time off from work: You are not helpful to the company and your coworkers when you are not operating at full capacity. Vacations help you to get rejuvenated to come back to work at full capacity.
They also give excellent tips on saving on the cost of a vacation and on insuring that work continues in the office while you are absent. Check it out before you check out this Summer!