I have a hard time understanding why people seem to have a hard time understanding what I understand perfectly well: I like working during my vacation.
This column was sparked by a story in the New York Times that suggests that Americans are taking fewer vacations because: 1. They feel they are indispensable, 2. They are afraid they will lose their jobs while gone; and 3. They are just damned competitive.
I think all three reasons are rather silly, at least as it applies to the vacation - or going on holiday - question.
I recently took two weeks off to bathe in the sun and soak in the sea. It had nothing to do with "recharging my batteries," and I really hated it when people told me how rested I looked upon returning. "Oh, I had a face-lift," I said, sarcastically.
The fact is that I vacationed with my girlfriend and her five-year-old. Kids are cute and cuddly, even adorable, but very high-maintenance. It would have been easier to rest in a Baghdad suburb outside the safety of the Green Zone.
But I am not complaining. It was certainly a change of pace, and I enjoyed it. It had nothing to do with relaxation, though. It was merely a two-week change of responsibility for big people to responsibility for a single little person.
However, what made it less stressful was the fact that I also vacationed with a very small laptop, and the Marriott at which we stayed had an expensive but very reliable Wi-Fi connection.
During the two weeks, I kept up with all my e-mail traffic, responding to those things that needed immediate attention. I did a considerable amount of work-related writing, and I managed to keep up my daily morning memo to the staff.
I also managed to do some "blue sky" thinking about our advertising and PR agency, and even came up with plans to meet challenges that are certain to face us in 2007.
On the other hand, I spent considerable time in a swimming pool, careened down a water slide, drank a semi-conservative number of gin and tonics, and tried a half-dozen different restaurants. We even managed to swim in both the Dead Sea and the Red Sea in
a single day.
In my view, and I have stated it before in this column, workaholics are suck-ups and suckers. They are pond scum because they generally get very little done. They move paper, and judge value by the clock.
I have met a few so-called workaholics, but mostly I have met people who simply liked to work. These are people who get psychic enjoyment out of accomplishing work-related goals.
There is a difference. If one would prefer, say, writing a column, or reviewing
a column of figures, to playing tennis or table games, does that make it work, or merely a paid hobby?
This, I would assume, probably doesn't apply to all professions. For example,
a gravedigger would probably rather be elsewhere, and a bus driver probably hates a motor tour.
However, in the sphere in which I operate, which is semi-professional if not professional, work has become - primarily due to the Internet and globalization - a 24-hour possibility, if not probability.
This is not bad, provided that you allocate sufficient time within that full-day span for non-work related activities that will lead to a balanced life.
I have proposed the 24-hour workday at The Willard Group with some success. It is based not on time, but on getting the job done and bringing value to the client.
Hence, I don't go into a panic when someone is not at a desk, or decides to work from home on a particular day. However, there is a responsibility to definitely get the job done, and take into consideration the schedules of others.
Culturally, Americans are really out-of-step when it comes to vacations. Only 14 percent take two weeks' vacation at a time. In Europe, taking a month off is quite common.
The fact is, I might even have enjoyed another week or two of vacation. The reason, however, was that I had the opportunity to mix a fun vacation with paid and interesting work.
The New York Times article made the point that "most of us work because we want to work. We are doing this for ourselves."
And that's just the point.
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