Past Time to Get Away (7)

It is becoming evident that people are starting to over work themselves.  As read in the articles "The Shame of Failure" and "Please Don't Make Me Go on Vacation," we're actually choosing to work a little too much.  If people do decide to go on vacation, their time off is still filled with electronics that bring never ending phone calls and emails, making it hard to actually relax and rejuvenate.  When thinking about this and relating it to our everyday living, it's interesting to think about the effect over working ourselves has on our home lives.  If we can't even relax on a nice beach for vacation, how are we going to allow ourselves to rest at home?  Not allowing ourselves to get away from the stressful things associated with work can potentially, and most likely does, have a negative effect on our sleep.  Laying awake at night thinking of all the things we didn't get done that day while dreading some of the things coming the next day can quickly spiral into serious sleep deprivation.  According to Alain De Botton, the author of "The Shame of Failure," our obsession with being successful at work stems from our fear of failure that relates to our general comparison of ourselves to others around us.  Even if we live comfortably and happily, the comparison between us and our neighbors still exists.  As a result, our fear of mediocrity causes us to skip vacation time to continue our long days at work.  In the article "Please Don't Make Me Go on Vacation" by Stephanie Rosenbloom, she states that, "A study released last year by the Families and Work Institute found that American workers have on average 16.6 paid vacation days but that more than one-third of employees (36 percent) did not plan to use their full vacation," revealing that it is becoming more and more  common for people to skip out on their earned vacation time.  Would we be happier if we actually took advantage of vacation time?  I believe that it would make a difference in some ways, but it wouldn't cure every problem.  Rest and rejuvenation, in my opinion, are very important when it comes to work.  I think it's important to allow ourselves a break every once in a while.  With that being said, there's no doubt that I'll be taking advantage of my vacation time in the future!

De Botton, Alain.  "The Shame of Failure."  NewStatesman.  NewStatesman, 1 January 2005.  Web.  22 September 2015.

Rosenbloom, Stephanie.  "Please Don't Make Me Go on Vacation."  New York Times.  New York Times, 10 August 2006.  Web.  22 September 2015.