Friday, August 25, 2006

Too busy to relax


Surrounded by electronic gadgets that make life a marvel of efficiency and speed, Americans should have extra time on their hands to take it easy, right?

Nope. In fact, Americans have become the least relaxed industrialized people in the world.

A new study by The Conference Board found that 60 percent of the nation's consumers had no plans for a vacation in the following six months. Among those who do take a break, the Travel Industry Association says the average summer vacation is just six days.

The tradition of two-week vacations during the lazy summer days has been deeply eroded and is in danger of becoming another of those charming customs of Americana in grandfather's day.

Reasons for shrinking vacations abound. A fourth of the workforce in the private sector gets no paid vacation time. Fuel costs discourage others who drive to vacation spots. Other heads of household are afraid to miss meetings.

One company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, now forces employees who won't vacation, relax and recharge to do so. It shuts down all its U.S. offices for 10 days at Christmas and 5 days around the Fourth of July, forcing 29,000 employees to stay away from work. Result: better production from rested workers.

Unbelievable it may seem, but vacation destinations like Sun Valley may soon have to add something to their standard marketing efforts. They may have to convince people that vacations make working easier—and faster.

They may have to teach people how to have fun and to reassure them that it's not only OK to travel and relax—it's necessary.




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