Everybody - well almost everybody - wants more vacation, and we Americans get upset when we see how other countries treat vacation time. Austria, Denmark, and Finland average 30 days. France, Germany, and Norway average five weeks, while Belgium, Ireland, England, Holland, and Switzerland are at 20 days. I have even heard that some German companies provide paid or at least subsidized stays at places like Baden Baden for a month. The closest we could come is three days in Walla Walla, and that only for alliterative purposes.
So jealous are we of those with more that we want legislation if employers aren't willing to give such time off voluntarily. It takes us longer to get where we're going, so we need and should have more time off. No one has thought of the costs of giving such time off or the fact that the federal and state governments has never regulated vacation time for private employers. (I think that every employee should have to run their own company with their own money for at least one year out of their lives just to discover that money does not magically appear. Only Arthur Andersen could conjure up such images, but remember, those were only images.)
The average vacation in Greece, by the way, is 30 days. You can discover what effect this has on the population if you ever go there and wait for service at Ye Olde Parthenon Ouzel Shoppe. As Italians and Greeks will tell you, it's hard to get someone to wait on you while the country is on vacation. Admittedly, I've had the same problem in New York, but it's simply a matter of degree.
Okay, the major effect of extended vacation is the cost to the company. Ah, but what are the costs?
I just spent three glorious days in Yosemite. Since we couldn't find accommodations within the park, we stayed at a B&B (hey, I'm only a happy camper when I don't camp) 30 miles from the west entrance. From Coulterville to Tuolumne Meadow to Tioga Pass to Mono Lake to the Valley to Glacier Point to Mariposa Grove and five hiking trails in between, to home, I drove 871 miles. Our days were a minimum of 16 hours long, and packed with hiking and jest settin' and lookin'. Nothing quite as spectacular as Yosemite, but I want you all to stay home ... at least next June when we go back.
That was three days. The formula for a three-day vacation is to square the number of days and you have the vacation prep time. My wife and I started mini-hikes about a month before we left, even though we knew that that wouldn't compensate for actually hiking at 8,000 feet. So much for physical preparation.
Three days on line to find nice accommodations. Road maps, park maps, Mapquest maps to the hotel take another three hours or so. Get the car serviced. Buy enough drinks and deli for sandwiches for the hikes. And a day shopping for new hiking shoes. My wife went out to buy sun block 25000 or whatever, mosquito repellent, fanny packs ... in other words most of the stuff we can't find from previous trips.
Then there's the matter of clothing. Parts of Yosemite still have snow in August. To my wife this means sweaters, parkas, boots, and pants. However, since we're actually not in the snow and the temperatures were in the 90s the week before, that also meant shorts, blouses, hats, and lord knows what else. Me? Two pair of shorts, four shirts, 4 pair of socks, and some underwear. I'm not meeting anyone and the bear don't care. My wife thinks that these things should also be folded and organized and after 39 years, I don't argue.
Then we had to get together all of our dog's stuff so that he could stay with his favorite people who swear (1) that he won't eat kibble on vacation, and (2) that they don't feed him from the table. But he always comes back heavier than when left. Anyway, it takes another hour to get that taken care of. Almost forgot: get someone to water the plants, and had to water before we left as well. Then, remember to turn off the air conditioning. Make sure that nothing is plugged in or that everything is plugged in, the timers are on, the garbage is put out and a neighbor will bring the cans back in, and that the papers are slipped through our door. You all know the drill.
Three and a half days later and we're back. It was unforgettable. And now comes the unpacking, the return of mosquito repellent and two fanny packs, the donation of sun block to one of our daughters, the picking up the newspapers, dog, and a trip to the market since we have no food. The car needs a good washing as do we.
It will take two days to sort through photos and delete the ones I don't want (nice thing about digital, you can actually delete without guilt). In the old days, you'd add a week to sort slides, put them in trays, and then show them to unsuspecting visitors. Today you take 10 or 12 and make them into a slide slow on the computer to run for a day or two. Then there's the email and regular junk mail and the phone calls that have to be returned, and I was only gone for three days! That aside, it will take another five days before I'm mentally able to get into a routine, a routine that I so dearly want to escape.
In 1979 I had a three-week vacation on the Bow River in Canada. On July 23, 2002, I finished my recuperation. Rather than vacuum the car, I sold it.
So, you want a vacation. You can't handle a vacation! You're an American. You don't know how to relax. You probably work harder at leisure than anyone from any other culture. On top of which neither the company nor you can afford it. Enjoy what you've got and what you get. Don't come crying to me. I forgot to turn off the air conditioning and left the ice chest at home.
All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2002. E. A. Winning Associates, Inc.