Barry's Blog

"A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of Hell," mused George Bernard Shaw. We might beg to differ with his sentiment, but many of us have a "dis-ease" with vacations, time away from what is "important" in life, i.e., the world of business. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, after twenty-seven years at Wal-Mart, CEO Lee Scott recently announced that he is taking off the entire month of May. Yes, I said month! It is the first long vacation he has ever had, since up until now he has always taken off a week here and there, or a few days at a time. While some might think Scott would be getting a congratulatory send-off, when Wal-Mart recently confirmed Mr Scott's four-week getaway, you guessed it, there was widespread speculation on Wall Street that he might be resigning or being replaced.

Amidst such speculation, Wal-Mart quickly quashed the rumor. A spokesman offered: "He planned this months in advance when he saw time in his calendar where there was some flexibility." During the month of May, Mr. Scott plans a long driving trip with his wife and some deep-sea fishing with her and some friends. The spokesman added, "And he'll be back refreshed and ready" for the shareholders' meeting on June 2.

If CEO's took lengthier breaks from work, Mr. Scott's vacation probably wouldn't be stirring so much buzz, but studies show that executives in the U.S. rarely even use up the vacation time that is allotted them each year. Most usually just take several short vacations annually - a few days at Christmas and around other holidays, and maybe a week in the summer months. Some fear that an extended time away from work will allow their competitors to move in on their turf, or they may be simply addicted to their work.

Yet this mindset may in the long run be detrimental for business. Roger Brunswick, a partner at management consultant Hayes Brunswick in New York, suggests that "it takes time and space for ideas to bubble up in new ways." Consequently, executives who don't take significant time away from the day-to-day tedium of deadlines and routines do not create the mental space needed to get fresh perspectives on problem-solving, as well as being able to bring vision and creative ideas to their companies. 

What is interesting is that the same executives who grant sabbaticals to their employees or tell them to use all of their vacation time do not necessarily take significant breaks from work themselves. PepsiCo CEO Steve Reinemund tells his employees that vacations are important to achieve "work-and-family balance" and to "get new ideas about work," yet he limits his own breaks, according to a spokesman, to a week at a time. Two years ago, Peter Olson, CEO of Bertelsmann AG's Random House publishing arm, launched a paid sabbatical program of a month to five weeks for veteran employees, yet he typically takes only two weeks off at a time.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini is one exception, who offers employees paid, eight-week sabbaticals every seven years. And even Mr Otellini has taken several sabbaticals during his 32-year career with Intel, though not since taking the helm last May.

But despite the overture of paid sabbaticals for tenured employees, an even bigger challenge than just getting away is "disconnecting," that is,  from cellphones and smartphones like BlackBerrys (they aren't called "CrackBerrys" for nothing!). Although Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson spent 10 days camping and hiking in Chile with his family last Christmas, he was never far away from his clients and employees, since he had his trusted satellite phone by his side at all times.

As for Wal-Mart's Mr. Scott, he is relying on his two Vice Chairmen to man the ship for two weeks each while he is away. Yet he will not be un-tethered from the goings-on of the company. He will be taking his Palm Treo with him. "He's going to check in periodically, and we know where to reach him in an emergency, but we understand he's on vacation," says a spokesman.

What makes it so difficult for us to "get away" from our work? Why is it that Americans work more hours than inhabitants of any other country in the advanced industrial world, passing even the fabled Japan? Why do we work the equivalent of an amazing eight weeks a year longer than the average Western European? Could it be that we have a dependency, an addiction to our work?

"Most Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, and to play at their worship. As a result, their meanings and values are distorted. Their relationships disintegrate faster than they can keep them in repair, and their lifestyles resemble a cast of characters in search of a plot." -Gordon Dahl 

For FinishingWell,

Barry Morrow