Do Americans Work Too Much?

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When I raised the vacation issue in an article six years ago, some irate letter writers predicted that the Asian Tigers—Korea, Thailand, Taiwan—would eat us up if we “gave” any more vacation time. A few economic meltdowns later, we’re not too worried about those Tigers anymore. We’re blowing away the world’s economies and have the lowest unemployment in 30 years. Why are we so insecure? What’s the point of being an economic superpower if we don’t have time for anything but more work?

Another impediment to rational discussion in this debate is the idea that employers are giving something away with vacation leave. But it’s just the opposite. “In essence, companies get more for their money,” says employment counselor Barry Miller. “Not only are they going to get more productive employees, but they’re also going to get retention and loyalty. My stepson got a week off for paternity leave from his company. He is so loyal to them, he’ll never leave. He has more of a commitment to them because they have an interest in him.”

And besides, it’s not a giveback so much as a rightful return of a fraction of the hours already burned up by routine 50-hour weeks. “Within most large companies, the long-hours culture permeates the way things are done, and the level of stress is high,” says Mindy Fried of the Center for Work and Family at Boston College. “People are incredibly burned out.” Fried has just released a study showing that flexible hours can help take some of “the steam out of the kettle.”

Providing a decent amount of time off also makes good business sense. Employees who are burned out make costly errors, they rack up sick days, they quit or get fired, and companies have to spend extra money to train new employees. SAS Institute, a North Carolina-based software company, has reportedly saved “tens of millions” of dollars in turnover costs with an employee-friendly policy of no overtime and a 35-hour week, according to a study reported in The New York Times.

Opponents of a mandated vacation law always trot out the myth that it would hurt productivity. While the United States does rule in productivity, it’s not by much compared to Germany, for instance. The difference in output per hour is almost negligible, and Germans manage to do it in two months less work. Think about that one. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 1992 to 1998, France and Sweden, both five-week- vacation lands, matched or surpassed the annual U.S. increase in output per hour while working vastly fewer hours.

Another common misperception is that American business would never accept Euro-style multiweek vacations. Well, it already is. Four-week vacation packages for upper management are routine at major U.S. companies. And workers with special and highly coveted skills, like high-tech experts, negotiate lengthy vacation into their contracts. We just need to spread the wealth.

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