Should US workers be guaranteed more vacation time?

Yes

9 of 23

by Carel Two-Eagle

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With reservations and qualifications, I would say "yes, US workers should be guaranteed more vacation time". The qualifications include, "if they want it; if they need it; and if US companies change their perspectives from too much 9-1ing to making a commitment to true flexible time.." and there may be others.

I have been in business since I was in kindergarten. I was expelled from school for it - even though my teacher was not a bigot, I believe the principal was - although she eventually learned (from me, she said) to adjust her perspective. The claim was, I was somehow undercutting the school system of the US. Wow! Someone who had walked the earth for a whole five years was able to undercut the (entire!) school system of the US by running a very simple business - that of a public scribe. I ultimately won the battle, and knew then that I would be in business for the rest of my life.

When you have a business, it's like being married, but with LOTS of partners. Local, state, and federal government all want to stick their paddies into your pie and have a sample - whenever they want to; your employees, being individuals, all have opinions about how you run the business; and they usually have spouses, who also have opinions. And needs. They all have needs, including for vacation time.

Some employees love their jobs so much (or maybe are so insecure about their necessity to the business, but I hope not in any of mine) that they don't take their vacation time. It can pile up to total years if allowed to accumulate long enough. This has prompted some companies to adopt a 'use it or lose it' position, mostly in response to state and / or federal laws about vacation time. I don't like this position; I believe it shorts the employee who suddenly has a need for more than the annual budget of vacation time for him / her. I don't care what happens to 'most' people; if it happens to you, it's vital for you, your sanity, sometimes your marriage, and who knows what else. Vacation time is not 'always' about fun in the sun and relaxation. In my businesses, 'the company' is a team of management and labor, and we deal with extended vacation time needs when they come up, from a pool of unused vacation time by everyone in the company.

If someone has a catastrophe such as a stroke and the prognosis is that they won't be able to return to their old jobs, we study whether they can come back at all, and if so, in what capacity and to what degree. Luckily, such situations are rare.

Some employees come to their job in order to support their entertainment habits. They don't save money; they spend, spend, spend. TV's, eating out, boats, ATVs, cars, concerts or sports events - if it's a frill, they want it. These employees may be really good at their jobs, but they are the ones who prompt the remarks about Hump Day and the other days of the week. So long as it doesn't interfere with their job performance, I try to stay out of their attitude problems. Unfortunately, I don't get that lucky that often.

Why? Because they insist on making their 'fun time' pursuits spill over into their work time, to the detriment of their work, both in quality and quantity, and they drive their co-workers to distraction. That can wreak havoc on the flow of work, and then I have to get involved. These are generally the people who make the most noise about how they 'should' get more vacation time, too, I notice.

Over the years, I've found ways to get around most of these problems; and here's how I've done it:

In my first 'big' (i.e., big for me) business, I had up to 17 men working with / for me for 20 years. They were all private contractors, but they knew if they didn't produce both high quality and quantity, I could and would replace them. As it turned out, this approach eliminated the problem of vacation time allotments by 'the company'. How? Simple - it put the responsibility for paying for vacations on those who took them.

We operated with very few rules, because I absolutely believe in the KISS Theory of Operations; Keep It Stupidly Simple. The more complex a thing is, the greater the likelihood that things will happen to screw up the flow of quality and quantity. I love two things in my businesses - low tech and simplicity.

I told every one of those men - and once in awhile, I had to take their women aside and explain it to them - "I hire adults. The building is here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the heat, electricity, water and insurance operating. If you like to work from 2 a.m. - 2 p.m., or 3 a.m. - noon, you have a key - do your best. We will all know from your production whether or not you are contributing to meeting our deadlines or not.. If we make our deadlines with time to spare, you will all get a bonus according to your production quality and quantity. Those who produce more and better will get bigger bonusses than those who don't. (Incentive and motivation)

"If you plan to take a vacation, let us all know asap so we can plan around your work that won't get done, particularly if you need to take off suddenly. It will all be called 'vacation', even what you take off for isn't always going to be 'fun'. (Show respect)

"I have no tolerance for alcohol or drug use. If you come here tanked, I will fire you. If you bring alcohol here, I will kill you first, then resurrect you, and then fire you. If you come here stoned, I will kill you, resurrect you, fire you, and see to it you never work again within 150 miles of here. Since I am well-known in our field, you already know I can and will do this. If you bring drugs here, God won't be able to help you, even if She were so inclined, which I doubt She is, based on past performance. (Common sense and appreciation of safety)

"If you steal from the company, you steal from us all. Do it enough, and none of us will have a job. If you need to borrow supplies, write them down so we can deal with it later. (Show respect)

"There is no pecking order here. There is Carel and the rest of you guys. That's so because I sign the checks. (Fact)

"If you have a question, a complaint or a problem and can't resolve it yourself in a way we can all be comfortable with, tell the boss, so she can fix it." Often, I involved everyone in fixing whatever-it-was, because people who have an investment in a thing tend to take better care of it, and each other. (Respect, motivation)

In 20 years, I lost 6 guys; 3 I had to fire; 3 left in a friendly way. That's a pretty fair record. What was the recurring secret through all of this? I treated my guys as what they were - human beings, not slaves. I have never had any tolerance for the "massa-slave" approach to intra-company interactions. 'Management' has no reason to exist without 'labor' to make the widgets; 'labor' needs 'management' to bring in the orders for widgets.

In Europe, the need for people to take time off is both culturally-based with roots going back to ancient times and ways, and based on recognition of human needs for time to refresh their perspectives, get away from any in-company bullies, or to just catch their breath.

I, being an ITI - an Indigenous Turtle Islander - and an heyoka (a contrary; one who routinely deals with stormy aspects), have generally always taken the road less travelled. It's my nature. I don't do things this way 'to be different', I do them this way 'because I am different'. And also because my elders raised me with, "We don't care WHAT 'everyone else' is doing. YOU do YOUR thing, YOUR way. If 'everyone' jumped off a bridge, would you go too? No! You be the one who raises the alarm and saves some of the herd."

It has not been easy, since it is an ancient truism that 'what is popular isn't always right and what is right isn't always popular', but it has been rewarding over the long haul, because I know I have made the trail easier for those who will come after me - and probably for some who are walking right now.

Next - is this a government-mandate thing? Unfortunately, my answer is, "probably". Why? Because while 'America' is said to be the Land of the Free, the fact is, 'America' is actually the Land of the Bully'. Read her history, and you will see it as plain as the nose on your face. What a bummer!

Why is 'America' the Land of the Bully? Because her founders treated us ITI as non-humans, claimed they came here to be 'free' but enslaved or slaughtered us at the same time, and lied, cheated, and stole their way to 'greatness'. And they are still doing it. The disgusting, shameful antics of various company heads of recent years are nothing new; reporting their antics is. The problem has always existed; there was a so-called 'gentlemens' agreement' not to report most of the disgusting antics of the 'power-mongers' of 'America'. That's not particularly genteel..

I'll tell you a secret, takoszja.. Truly 'great' beings don't lie, cheat, or steal their way to their pinnacles. But bullies invariably lie, cheat, and steal to get anywhere. They live to intimidate anyone they see as weaker. They live by lying. Generally, if you stand up to a bully, s/he will fold.

As a business person, the antics of the supposed 'leaders' of business and government we've been reading about in recent years embarrass me and every other business person who treats his / her employees not as junior partners, necessary to the success of 'the company', but as mindless and untrustworthy beings.

So since the prevailing attitude and perspective of too many 'managers' is not one of respect for the people they've hired to 'help' the company meet its orders, history will probably have to repeat itself, and US companies will have to be mandated by law to provide all employees with more vacation time, if this concept is to come to fruition.

Different people have different needs, so if a system is devised in which unused vacation time is accumulated so someone with a need or desire for extra time can get some, I could be comfortable with that. Definitely the structure of companies with regard to true flexible time requirements will have to change.

Obviously this is a question that needs more study in order to bring about a system that can flex to accomodate the needs of management, labor, and the customers; and which doesn't depend on 'the company' to foot the bill as if it were somehow isolated from the people within it. But overall, I don't think it could be a good thing. It has worked in Europe for decades..

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