5 Reasons We Are a No Vacation Nation
I have lived the United States reputation as a “no vacation nation,” to quote the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Years ago, when I was working at a law firm there was no leave policy for attorneys. There was also no Netflix CEO advocating for unlimited vacation, it was a different time. I asked, “How much vacation time do I get?” The partner responded with a smirk “lawyers don’t get vacation time.” Afterward an administrator swooped in to clarify that I could take vacation “based on your workload.”
Back then this meant that lawyers didn’t take a lot of vacation and I was proof. In my three years at the firm I took a total of 8 days off, not counting Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day and never more than 3 days in a row.
Why? I was inexperienced and scared. No one in my sphere was talking about balance or self-care. Additionally, I was scared that I would be seen as weak, disloyal, or not committed to my work. My strategy was to be around a lot and to park my car where at least two partners I worked with would see it. I wanted to be irreplaceable. Also, I was working in a culture that prioritized work. This prioritization of work and demonization of vacation time are not unique to the legal field. It is the prevailing culture in our country.
As a consultant, I often work with clients to assess their teams, structure, and benefit offerings. In a recent project I surveyed 8 Northeast Indiana non-profit organizations’ paid time off (PTO) policies for new hires. I found a wide range of PTO polices from 40 hours to 224 hours. However, the majority of the organizations offer new employees only 2 weeks of vacation. This is not much in the face of the long list of documented benefits and the current focus in the US on employee retention, development, and burnout.
How did we get here? Here are five ideas that may explain why we remain a no vacation nation.
Employees’ behavior reflects leaders’ behavior. When leaders do not take vacation, employees follow suit, just as I did when I watched leaders at the law firm. In time, this behavior becomes a point of pride. I once heard a leader brag to employees, “I have worked over 100 days straight.” That behavior makes it nearly impossible for employees to prioritize vacation without fear of judgment by their leaders.
When organizations run lean on staff employees may feel they can’t burden their colleagues by being away. Employees also skip vacations to avoid disrupting their team or deal with backlogged work when they return. A common refrain is “I don’t want to deal with my email and work when I return.” This drives a culture of valuing convenience and routine over balance.
Working hard in most communities is high praise. Taken to its extreme, employees who hard work means they are always working. In this circumstance the value of balance is outweighed by the community’s praise and priority on hard work and sacrifice.
Policymaking as problem solving to avoid conflict. Rather than address behavioral issues around time off and absenteeism directly, leaders avoid conflict and use a policy solution where a conversation solution should do.
Leaders like control. Some leaders like their teams right where they can see them – in the office. Mere presence, though, doesn’t translate to productivity. A better approach is to build authentic trust-based relationships with employees. Trust them to do their work, use their vacation responsibly, and then embrace healthy conflict by respectfully holding them accountable if goals are not met.