Workers taking less time off for vacations

By Stephanie Armour
USA Today

More employees are forgoing the traditional summer getaway and scaling back vacation plans because of job pressure.

Nearly 50 percent of executives expect to make fewer vacation plans in 2003, according to a survey by Cleveland-based search firm Management Recruiters International. The primary reason? Demands of the job.

"No one can find the time for vacations. Our poor employees are working incredibly hard," says Bob Rice, CEO of Viewpoint, an Internet graphics firm in New York. "Customers have gotten more demanding."

Workers are taking 10 percent less vacation time this year than they did 12 months ago, according to a May poll by Expedia.com. Twelve percent report taking no vacation at all, and one in five say they feel guilty taking time off.

That's because the slow economy has employers laying off staff and halting new hires — leaving those left behind saddled with more work and less able to justify a break.

The trend toward fewer days off is having an impact:

• Cash-strapped companies are reaping financial savings. Workers hand over more than $21 billion in unused vacation days to employers each year, according to Expedia.com.
• Employers eager to retain workers are revamping vacation policies allowing workers to carry over unused vacation days rather than forfeiting them.
• The lack of time off can lead to overly stressed employees, experts say. That can dampen morale and hamper productivity.