American Labor (9/14/2004)

Labor Day was September 6th this year. It falls on the first Monday of September and honors working people. It also unofficially marks the end of summer and of vacation. Yet, Americans are less likely to take vacations these days and, in fact, are working harder and longer, but being paid less. A Chicago Tribune article entitled, "We're skipping vacations in lieu of working more," by David Lyman, cited a recent study by Expedia.com, an online travel service, which found that more than 30 percent of us do not take all of the vacation due us; even worse, 14 percent of workers don't take any vacation. The reasons vary.

With downsizing a big concern, workers fear that taking vacations could jeopardize their jobs. Some claim they are too busy to get away from work. Others worry things may not go right in their absence. Sometimes the workload increase before and after vacation-that is, making sure everything is taken care of before leaving, and then returning to mountains of emails and crises that occurred during vacation-makes employees wonder if it's more work to take a vacation. In fact, 32 percent of those on vacation still check emails and voice mail. Some workers declare they love their jobs too much to ever take vacations.

Jeff DeGraff, Associate Professor of Management Education at the University of Michigan's Business School states: "This is not a minor issue. In our culture, work has become fundamental to our identity. It's a socially sanctioned addiction." We Americans appear to define ourselves by our jobs. Companies seem to approve of their employees' workaholism because the company gets more work for the same money. Among developed countries, the U.S. is the only nation where the government does not mandate vacation time. In most of the European Union, four-week vacations are the minimum; Canada and Japan mandate two-week vacations; China and India call for three vacation weeks. DeGraff says that work is such an enormous part of who we are that it is squeezing out the other essential parts of our lives-- our families, communities, religion, and volunteering. Furthermore, our workaholism is unhealthy. Mark Ketterer, professor of psychiatry and psychology at Wayne State University, found that people who don't take vacations are more prone to dozens of health-related complications, including hypertension, depression, obesity and diabetes; and in another study, death from heart disease was about 40 percent higher in people who didn't take vacations.

Expansion of work in our lives has even influenced how we handle many of our mundane daily activities. For example, an August 8th Chicago Tribune article entitled, "Dashboard dining a driving focus," describes how on-the-go foods are evolving to match our fast-paced lives. New foods are designed to keep us on the go; no utensils needed. There are heat-and-sip cups of soup and mini-cookies in little cans that fit into our car cupholders, yogurt in squeeze tubes, and frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (no need to spend 2 minutes making a fresh one). Hey, pick up the pace, now we can eat more quickly while we drive and talk on our cell phones. And, you know you've seen people working on their laptops while they drive. Wouldn't want to waste a moment, got to keep working!

The achievements of the labor movement should be celebrated on Labor Day. But at the same time, we should recognize that many of those hard-won labor union benefits (overtime pay, vacations, sick leave) are eroding as we become more immersed in work and more isolated from each other. So, take your vacation; spend time with your family and friends; sit down at a table and eat a leisurely meal of real food with real utensils, not squeeze-tube food in your car. You'll be happier and healthier. Remember the old adage that no dying person ever said he wished he had spent more time at the office.

- Judith Kohler

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