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Time Off Is Medicine Besides dramatically cutting the risk of heart disease, vacations have a number of other health benefits. Vacations have been shown to cure burnout, the last stage of chronic stress. The time away from stressors helps re-gather crashed emotional resources, such as a sense of mastery and optimism. But it takes two weeks for this process to occur, so you need to have real time off to get the recuperative benefits. Studies have also shown that time off increases positive mood, a sense of initiative, competence, and that the more leisure activities you're involved in the higher your life satisfaction. Because vacations recharge and rejuvenate, the research shows they also increase performance on the job when you return to the office. Productivity works hand in hand with time off. When vacations are planned into the flow of operations, and cross-training allows colleagues to fill in while you're gone and vice-versa, everyone benefits, including the bottom line. Endangered Vacations But in the 24/7 office vacations are rapidly shrinking. Some one-third of American women get no vacation leave anymore, and one-quarter of men. Those who have paid-leave benefits have a hard time getting to use them. The long weekend is now the standard American holiday. It's time for minimum paid-leave protection for all Americans. Work to Live and the Take Back Your Time Campaign have joined forces in a campaign to pass a national three-week minimum paid-leave law. A mere 127 other countries have minimum paid-leave laws protecting vacations. The U.S. does not. Our aim is to make this an issue in the '08 presidential campaign. Where do the candidates stand on minimum paid leave? Call and email them. We also aim to win endorsements, such as we have from the Adventure Travel Trade Assoc. Let us know if your company or organization would like to join us. If you'd like to help, go to www.timeday.org and join the effort. The legislation would protect workers in our volatile economy from losing vacation benefits and having to start their vacation banks all over again when they change jobs. The policy would result in increased health and family time, and boost productivity for business at little to no cost. Jancoa, a Cincinnati firm, extended its vacation benefits for its 468 employees to three weeks, and the total cost was seven cents. Productivity and morale increased so much that the company was able to eliminate overtime and cut its retention and recruiting costs. Ron Kelemen, owner of the H Group in Salem, Oregon, has seen his profits double since he moved to a three-week vacation program. The fastest growing economy in the world, China, offers three weeks off, which they call "Golden Weeks." China moved to that policy to prime the pump and get people traveling around and spending. It worked. The U.S. would get the same economic stimulus, as people with more time traveled, and patronized hotels, tourist attractions, rental car companies and airlines. |
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