Its vacation season here in Minnesota, which means that a lot of business parking lots will be virtually empty on Friday afternoon as workers cut out early and head for the golf course, the cabin, or simply their backyard to start the grille. Mondays in the summer will find Minnesota workers gathered round the water cooler with freshly sunburned faces swapping stories of golf, fishing, boating, camping, swimming, picnics, and trips.
“Summertime, when the livin’ is easy” are lyrics to one of Ira Gershwin’s most beloved songs. Everyone takes it easy in the summertime, right? No, not everyone. While millions of workers enjoy a more relaxed summer schedule, many American workers, especially small business owners, put in long hours, barely even noticing the change of seasons. And, they do it willingly, at least in the beginning, because they know it is part of the price they have to pay for success.
As a small business grows and the owner can afford to hire employees, they can start delegating some of the workload. But, many small business owners know that this is not the time to relax. They believe in the old farming adage, “you’ve got to make hay while the sun shines”.
Sooner or late, whether the business is doing well or not, small business owners need to regain a bit of balance in their lives. If they continue to put in long hours with little or no time off, it can eventually damage family relationships or their health. While it is critical that small business owners give their all to give their business the best chance to survive and thrive, many a small business owners make a bad bargain, trading a life for a living. There are many stories about a small business that survived but the founder’s marriage didn’t.
In a recent WCCO report titled, “Our No-Vacation Nation”, a study by John Schmitt, an economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research was described comparing the amount of vacation taken by US workers and those from 33 other countries. While many countries with a standard of living almost as high as the US have laws that require employers to provide paid vacation and employees to take it, the US has no such laws.
In Great Britain, where Americans supposedly got their puritan work ethic, workers are guaranteed 20 days off. In France, its 30, in Germany its 22, and in Italy its 22. The average American worker has nine days off. Studies show that only 10% of Americans take a full two weeks off a year. Approximately 25% of American workers do not have paid vacation. For part time workers, its worse.
A post titled, “Do Americans get less vacation than people in other developed countries?” published on an irreverent blog, “The Straight Dope; Fighting Ignorance since 1973 (Its taking longer than we thought), provided some interesting information on what other countries refer to as vacation loading. In Mexico, if you are supposed to receive 20 days vacation, you’re employer must pay you for the 20 days plus another 25%-the equivalent of 25 days pay. Often Mexican employers typically give more like 80%. Of course wages are lower. However, European countries have much higher wages than Mexico and they do the same thing.
In addition, there are a host of entitlements offered by other countries that support the quality of life for workers. Australian workers get 13 weeks paid leave after 15 years of employment. Muslim workers get extended leave for a once in a lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca. Indonesian workers get time off during the day to pray. Brazilian workers get one day off with pay to give blood. Italian workers get 15 days off to get married. Female workers in Japan, Korea, and certain Muslim countries get one day off a month to deal with menstruation issues.
Sometimes dramatic differences exist between members of the same country, company, or family about how hard to work. Take my house. My position on life and work can best be described as, “joie de vivre”, which is French for joy of living. I want my work to include collegial relationships, fun, and a positive impact. My husband’s attitude is more “utilitarian”, which means he places value on an activity relative to the outcome. He wants his work to have a measurable impact on people, processes, and profits. When the going gets tough, which it usually does, instead of whining about having to work too hard, he simply does whatever it takes. And, although I joke about him wanting me to enroll in the “workaholic apprenticeship program”, I can’t imagine him not being able to achieve whatever he decides to do.
With my last job, I was thrilled to have a fabulous benefit package including close to five weeks vacation after the first year. But, even though the company promoted taking time off for work-life balance, did I take it? No. Why? Soon after I started, the economy tanked and it became pretty obvious that if I didn’t work more than 40 hours a week, virtually every week, I would never be able to make my numbers.
It wouldn’t have been so bad except the company would only allow employees to be paid for a small portion of unused vacation each year and/or to roll it over to the next year. In fact, many employees routinely forfeited a large portion of their vacation each year, not because they had to put in more hours to meet minimum requirements. They didn’t want to be perceived as slackers.
So, as one of my favorite characters on Saturday Night Live says, “What up with that?” Did the reluctance to be seen as a slacker begin with the recession? I think not. My Dad, who grew up in the depression, told me the story of how he got one of the few jobs available by pushing his way to the front of a crowd of 300 other men who needed the job just as desperately. The hiring manager pointed at my Dad and said “Anybody willing to do what I just saw you do deserves to get the job”. My Dad never forgot that. To this day, the only person I have ever met with a work ethic as strong as my Dad is my husband.
According to Cornell University economics professor Steven Kyle, Americans may not be as rich if we took more time off, but, we might be happier and healthier. People need time away from work to rejuvenate. After all why do we want a good job if it isn’t so we can have a better quality of life?
American Express conducted a survey and found that 40% of the smallest business owners ($200,000 or less in annual revenue) have no plan to take any vacation in any given year. Those who do schedule time off rarely get away. A third will link vacation time to a business trip and half will check what’s happening at work once if not several times daily.
The reluctance these small business owners have to take time off is not without good reason. They probably don’t have anyone they can rely on to handle problems or make sound decisions. They cannot afford any mistakes that could jeopardize their relationships with customers or clients. I can personally verify the validity of this concern. Years ago, when my boss, who owned the small business where I worked, went on vacation, he left me in charge. Unfortunately, I made a mistake on a Request for Proposal (RFP) and lost what would have been our largest contract ever.
For some, an excessive absorption in work may be compulsive. According to Diane Fassel, PhD and author of “Working Ourselves to Death”, there is a fine line between working hard to achieve one’s goals and Workaholism. When work dominates a person’s thoughts to such an extent that they can’t turn them off to eat, sleep, enjoy their family, friends, leisure activities, or spiritual pursuits, they might be a workaholic. If you answer yes to three or more questions on this assessment, you may have this problem.
In summary, can small business owners work too hard? Perhaps, if they continue to push themselves and their employees so hard that they burnout, a condition that has mental and physical consequences.
What are your thoughts about working too hard? Do you have personal experiences where working too hard or not hard enough was a problem? I would love to hear from you!
If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at susan.fronk@bestbizpractices.org.
Posted by: Susan Fronk
