Since I posted my blog, two columnists at The New York Times have been debating the vacation gap between the United States and Europe (focused on Germany) in a series entitled “Why Don’t Americans Have Longer Vacations?” The first two columns, “It’s Even Worse Than You Think” and “More Work, but Less Stress?,” have generated a large number of emotional—and at times strident—responses from both sides of the Atlantic. This isn’t surprising, since the vacation/paid time off question is really a proxy for many other issues, including work-life balance, respect for people’s off time (do you really get to disconnect or are you constantly checking email and joining teleconferences during your vacation), and work styles and cultures.

Many of the comments have also made claims about how much of our vacation time we Americans are actually using.  I’d like to know how perception and reality match up, so please take this quick survey.

How much of your annual paid time off (vacation, sick days, firm holidays like New Year’s Day and Fourth of July) are you actually using?

Work-life balance is a much-discussed ideal (myth?) in the United States, and companies proudly list the various programs they have to help employees balance work commitments with the rest of their lives (including flexible schedules, emergency daycare, and telecommuting). But they rarely share statistics on how many employees actually use each program or what correlation—if any—exists between use of these programs and workplace success. How does taking full advantage of work-life programs affect employees’ chances for promotions and pay raises, their perceived dedication to work, and their actual work performance? Are the most efficient individuals the ones who have a flex schedule?  Are the employees who use all their paid time off also the most creative and innovative individuals?  Or does adopting a flex schedule doom a person to boring, low-end projects?  After all, offering these programs is largely meaningless if people believe using them will derail their careers.

As we explore these questions, let’s start with a very simple, widely-accepted work-life program: paid time off. When I was first interviewing at large New York City law firms—which are notorious for working attorneys into the ground—a friend suggested that I ask associates, “Where did you go on your last vacation?” This was an easy way to find out if people were actually using their vacation time and how acceptable or difficult it was for the attorneys to use all four weeks of vacation time that large firms were then offering. No one I interviewed with had used all their PTO the prior year. One senior partner told me that he advises his associates to make only fully refundable plans (plane tickets, hotel reservations, etc.), as their vacations may get canceled at any moment. At my law firm, very few attorneys used all four weeks of vacation in any given year (though both my officemate and I did).

Now I work at a firm where all vacation time must be used each year. There is no rolling over of vacation days or getting cashed out for them at Framework, and simply not using them is strongly frowned upon. In addition, the office is closed each winter from Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day. These policies reflect our strong belief that people need time off and benefit more from rest, relaxation, and time with their friends and families than a few extra dollars in their bank accounts (and the business also benefits, since we don’t burn out or stop caring about work).

What about you?  How much of your paid time off did you use last year? What about your direct boss?  Please let me know.  I’ll report on the survey results after September 10^th.

BSkyB’s Bigger Picture Review 2009 PDF

I went to my bank on Christmas Eve to make a deposit and attempted to make some typical holiday small talk with Max, my favorite teller. “Are you ready for the holiday?” I asked (careful not to say “Christmas” lest I offend). She shrugged and said that it would be quiet, then she told me how a friend who has stage-four breast cancer, and who seemed near death in the spring, was up and about and feeling much better. “I’m just going to celebrate the fact that she’s alive right now,” she said, “and I don’t feel at all bad about not getting out there and shopping.”

Amen to that. There seems to have been an intense focus on how much “consumers” (a consumer somehow being a different species of human being; more on that later) are spending this holiday season. As though what comes out of our thinner-these-days wallets will save our economy and, thus, our world. Meanwhile, there is much moaning about how the healthcare bill that the Senate passed on Christmas Eve simply doesn’t cut it, that’s it’s so watered down as to be a certain failure. And there is much griping about how Copenhagen failed to meet expectations—as though it were even remotely possible to get 190 or so countries to sit down and, in the space of two weeks, agree to global, binding, verifiable targets to reduce GHG emissions.

Can we just celebrate that the United States, whose government only a year ago refused to even sit at the climate-change table, is now pushing itself and governments around the world to address the issue? Can we celebrate that we now have at least a foundation for moving toward meaningful action? And can we celebrate that a sizeable chunk of the US population is one step closer to having meaningful access to health care?

Yes, we have a tremendous amount of work to do. That includes creating jobs and pushing the global economy into meaningful (seems to be my favorite word today) recovery whilst reducing our environmental impacts. It certainly won’t happen by shopping alone. Nor will it happen if we just sit at home and moan. If we celebrate small steps, maybe we can summon the will and the wherewithal to take bigger steps.

Maybe 2010 will be a year of meaningful, positive change. But then, I’ve always been a bit of an optimist.

Happy New Year.

I typically count myself among the last-minute shoppers—rushing frantically from store to store; arranging next-day shipping to expedite my online orders; and, finally, wrapping gifts in newspaper late into the night on Christmas Eve.

But, not this year.

No, I’m stopping the madness and buying all of my gifts from the Zingerman’s website. FYI, Zingerman’s is a family of small food-related companies based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Sorry, Mom, if I ruined the surprise, but if it’s any consolation, here are a few things you can feel good about:

• Michigan needs us: The unemployment rate—15.1 percent as of October 2009—is higher in Michigan than in any other state. The auto industry is still struggling, despite a massive bailout and recent some signs of life. And Detroit’s Pistons (currently four games behind .500) and Red Wings (also running with the middle of the pack) aren’t lifting many spirits either. Supporting Michigan’s business community seems like the least we can do to help.
• Small business is the backbone of America: while Zingerman’s is hardly a small business anymore, it still feels like and operates like one, serving as a reminder that small, independent businesses need help too to survive in this economic climate.
• Enough with the “green” gifts: there are a number of gift guides on the web touting “green” products this holiday season (see examples here, here, and here). While I appreciate the focus and enthusiasm, I can’t help but think that my family and friends have their essential needs met already. Will more clothing or toys or gadgets make them any happier? Not nearly as much as good chocolate or cheese will!
• Last but not least, an eye toward sustainability: Zingerman’s strategic vision for 2020 focuses on sustainability as it pertains to customers, employees, and the planet at large. What’s not to like? 

That said, the holidays will have come and gone before we all know it, so let me take this fleeting opportunity to wish you a happy and festive holiday season! Oh… and happy shopping!

• UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen: is it dead on arrival or too early to tell?
• If we can’t get effective climate policy, is it too soon to start thinking about water policy as well?
• When one moves, what does one do with that stash of outdated business cards? [Seriously, I want someone to answer this question for me.]
• How will Americans wean themselves off plastic?
• Has no one thought of a “green” pizza box before?

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