All Work and No Play Makes U.S. a Tired Country

If I had a free airfare for every time an American told me that they have never ever taken a two week vacation in one spurt except for their honeymoon, I would fly free for the rest of my life. Europeans, New Zealanders and people like me who grew up Australia, savor our holidays and actually take them. When I say "holiday" I mean four weeks of uninterrupted travel, not four days away with a laptop and a cell phone. It also does not mean taking a week off to fix the aluminum siding on your house. Holidays have always been about multiple destinations, immersing yourself in the culture and learning about yourself through experiences -- even if they aren't all positive. The idea of a week at a beach resort in the Caribbean just doesn't hold that same appeal. So why do Americans take such short vacations and tend to favor one destination, a package trip or an organized tour?

It seems that Americans are too scared to take a long vacation. Sure they may be entitled to two weeks a year (some maybe even four weeks) but are hesitant to take it for fear that it will be looked down upon by management, that there will be nobody there to fill the gap or even worse, they may actually lose their job. I have to applaud employers like Yahoo!, who last week announced that they are compulsorily shutting down their head office during the week between Christmas and New Year and forcing their employees to take vacation. This may not be the ideal scenario as the week between Christmas and New Year is invariably the most expensive of the entire year to fly or stay anywhere, but at least it gives the staff time to decompress.

I am generalizing here and it is not my intention to insult people in my adopted homeland. Rather I want to free you from the bondage that is the American work ethic and introduce you to a lifestyle that I consider normal (okay, so Australians aren't exactly "normal" but we certainly love to travel). Travel is about passion, and saving money to visit a destination you have always dreamed about is the most gratifying feeling of accomplishment. Travel is also about risk taking and extending yourself. I love five-star hotels -- don't get me wrong -- but to really experience a country, you need to stay somewhere unique. I have had the pleasure and displeasure of staying at several rather questionable hotels -- like the hotel on the ninth floor of a 19th century building in Cairo where a fire broke out during my stay and the elevator stopped working, or having to wedge a chair under the door handle of the hotel room in Tangiers to stop the unwanted advances of the night manager. Then there was the flooded hotel room in Chichicastenango, Guatemala and a floating (or actually sinking) boat hotel in Amsterdam that gave away free beer but had no bath towels. You can't find those experiences in a package deal!

Long vacations and work productivity are not mutually exclusive. If you look at international standards, Australia is about average -- four weeks of paid leave or vacation per year is the legal and acceptable standard and in most organizations, time can be accrued. Traveling for four weeks is not frowned upon; in fact it is often encouraged. As a former employer, I often gave my staff up to three months off to explore the world, develop and come back invigorated. In Norway, it is generally five-weeks of paid holiday; in Italy the standard is more like six weeks, same in France and Germany. To keep it in perspective, all these countries are still in the top ten in terms of overall labor productivity in the world (along with the U.S., but at what price). I'm not just talking about middle management -- the holidays are across the board from senior executives to blue collar workers and everything in between. In France and Norway everything closes down during the month of July and the same is true for January in Australia and August in Italy (actually the Italian tradition dates back to Roman times, when it was common for everybody in Italy to escape the hottest time of the year by going on holiday. It is a time for people to rest, travel and celebrate life in general). It's not that Europeans don't have a strong work ethic ? they do. But they also know that the best work is done when they feel refreshed and revitalized and you can only really do that after a holiday.

Americans may be bad at taking vacations, but it seems that the Japanese are even worse. According to a January 2006 article entitled "Japan to tell its workers: take time off - for the sake of the nation" that appeared in the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper, Japanese people are entitled to 18 days holiday per year but rarely if ever take even half of that. As a result, productivity is lowering and it seems that even birthrates are affected with numbers plummeting as employees work long hours and take only half their holiday allowance. That should be incentive enough to take a break.

Passport ownership numbers in the U.S. tend to reflect how far down the ladder of life Americans rate international travel. Despite the atrocities of 9/11 and the panic about travel that supposedly followed, more Americans are getting passports now than ever before. Six years ago, figures were around 15% and according to the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, that figure is now at a record high 21% (although the Department of State suggests the figure is closer to 27% -- it is impossible to find one definitive statistic). Compare that with Australia and New

Zealand which are about 85%, around 80% in Germany, 77% in the U.K, approximately 40% in Canada and you begin to understand the focus and emphasis that the citizens from many other countries put on international travel.

There is an ad currently running on TV, I don't remember for which company, but it shows a couple's life flash before us, with images of childhood, college, work, having a family, etc. It is only at retirement that these people even consider traveling -- there is something very wrong with this picture and I think it reflects the way that most Americans perceive their lives. You should not have to wait until you are 60 to start enjoying your life through travel.

Quality of life is the number one reason you should travel and take longer vacations. There is too much stress and guilt when it comes to work, with people dreading taking a single day off. The obsession with career and making money ultimately will not bring the promise of a life fulfilled. It's time that people in the U.S. stood up to Corporate America and started demanding the right to take real holidays, even if they do call them vacations. Is two weeks enough to travel to Africa and take a proper safari? No. Is ten days enough to see the great museums of Europe? No again. Would you really fly all the way to New Zealand (where you land two days after you take off) for 12-days? I think not. So how do we go about implementing a fundamental change in the American psyche? Will it take a massive cultural shift or just the passion and dedication of travelers like you, with the strong will to explore the world and change the popular misconception that real vacations are for other people? I'm not calling for anarchy -- just a bit of subtle revolution.

Here are a few small suggestions:

• When you do travel, be adventurous, research your travel destination online and in travel guides (Frommer's of course) -- don't be afraid to try something different.
• Travel alone. It may sound daunting, but it is the best way to meet people and extend yourself.
• Step out of your comfort zone. If you are used to five-stars, try sleeping under five millions stars instead.
• Don't go back to the same place each year. Make it a point to try somewhere new each year.
• Learn a foreign language, even if it is only enough to order breakfast and say hello when you walk into a shop.
• Work out what you are really passionate about. If it is food, travel to the place of origin of your favorite cuisine. If it is Russian literature, travel to the source and see first-hand what inspired the Russian masters to write.
• Negotiate for more vacation time on with your next job offer; employers will more readily give a week of extra time off in lieu of more money. Even better: say you can only start that new job in a month's time and spend that month traveling somewhere sensational.
• Discuss the idea of a long vacation at work -- even if it is without pay. You'll never know unless you ask.
• Save your cash, set a goal, sublet your house/apartment and take a sabbatical (third world countries are best for those on a budget). A few months off will be the cure to all that ails you.