Better put vacations on the endangered species list
Another Labor Day has come and gone. How many people reading this have actually enjoyed a vacation themselves this summer?
I read some interesting statistics on the flight back from Fleetwood’s dealer meeting that can either raise the alarm for our industry or point to tremendous opportunity. In America, vacations should go on the endangered species list. Consider this:
- The Families and Work Institute released a study showing that only 14 percent of Americans take two weeks or more of consecutive time for a vacation. That means the average American spends more time in the bathroom than on vacation.
- Compared to 1970, American managers are working an additional month per year, according to research conducted by Loyola University in Chicago. Forget that day off, your action plan and reforcasted budget must be submitted today.
- An Expedia.com consumer poll recently discovered that Americans are working more hours than any time since the 1920s. In fact, 63 percent of Americans log more than 40 hours per week at the office, and 40 percent log more than 50 hours per week. No wonder there is no time for weekend trips with the family.
- Most working moms can attest to this. According to an editorial posted by independent news organization Alternet June 30, 2003, the average middle-income family works four months more in total hours per household than it did in 1979.
- In 1999, the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health Conference released a report titled, “Work, Stress and Health.” The report noted that within the span of a single generation, people work approximately eight weeks longer per year than in 1969, but for roughly the same inflation-adjusted income. Has the situation become better or worse for employees since 1999?
- A Boston College Survey discovered 26 percent of Americans take no vacations at all. That’s one out of every four people you work with, see at church or bump into at the mall.
- American workers get an average of 8.1 days of vacation after one year on the job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and 10.2 days after three years. Based on an average 2,080 hour work year, that means workers with three years on the job must spend 3.25 DAYS on their desks to get a single HOUR of vacation. Want to leave early on a Friday afternoon, you’ll need to put in 12.75 days on the job to generate that four-hour mini-vacation.
When it comes to vacation days per employee, America compares poorly to the rest of the world. According to the World Tourism Organization, here are the average vacation days per worker by major industrialized countries:
- Italy = 42 days
- France = 37 days
- Germany = 35 days
- Brazil = 34 days
- Britain = 28 days
- Canada = 26 days
- Japan = 25 days
- USA = 13 days
As noted small business author Timothy Ferriss recently pointed out, “Is it any wonder the US Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks just about everything but worker satisfaction?”
The International Labor Organization, a United Nations agency, discovered that Americans work 137 more hours per year than Japanese workers, 260 more hours per year than British workers, and 499 more hours per year than French workers.
America needs the RV industry more today than ever before – they just don’t know it yet. According to survey calculations done by Expedia.com, employees hand their companies more than $21 billion in unused vacation days each year. Ironically, that’s nearly twice the size of the orchestrated effort of the entire RV industry with manufacturer, supplier, dealer and warehouse distributor output combined.
This week, when an anxious customer walks onto the lot with the crazed look of a zombie whose eyes dart nervously around the room and who is absolutely paranoid about being caught sitting down, give him a break. Take away his cell phone, Blackberry and pager. Dim the lights and play a DVD of a gentle campfire on your computer screen. Pop a CD of cricket and bird sounds into the CD player on your desk. Guide him to a Coronado recliner/lounger, pour him a nice cool drink and massage his back.
As the stress melts away, I suspect he’ll be highly open to suggestion.
September 10th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
I have been in the RV industry, full-time since 1969.
My family ended up in this business because of my father and uncle and their passion for quality family time together. As kids, we never missed the 1-2 week fishing trips to Canada (with family, cousins and friends) and all the memories that created.
Somewhere along the way, business became paramount and we stopped making those trips. My father has passed on and we grew up to raise our own families. We talked about the good ‘ol days, but it was just talk.
Kids today, including ours, are only involved with sports if they are in organized leagues. People trade in those bunk trailers for single bed models because “the kids are teenagers now”.
The innocence of life for families is no longer there. That’s a travesty.
We made a promise to our son years ago. Once he graduated high school, we (my wife, my son, my 14-year old daughter and myself) would walk away from work for two weeks and go fishing in Canada, just like we did as kids so many years ago with Grandpa. I worried and stressed over this trip for months, not so much financially, but because the business would fail without me at the helm.
This past June, he graduated and in August and early September, we fulfilled that promise!!
Two and 1/2 weeks later, I’m back to work, refreshed and feeling better than I have for years!! The business is still there, our marriage is tighter than it has been for years, our son and daughter actually love each other and life is good.
My kids now have those same memories that they can pass along to their children someday, or better yet; live those memories with their own kids.
How cool is that, having an 18-year old son and a 14-year old daughter that still enjoy being with mom and dad!!
Make the time people, life really is a trip!!
September 5th, 2007 at 1:22 am
Any chance that at least some of that unused time is due to, either working to pay for an overindulgent lifestyle and to keep bill collectors away, or out of a false sense of obligation to building their boss’s dream? Well, that ain’t gonna happen. Regardless of the reason, I assert that we’ve lost focus. We’re so busy being busy, we’ve lost our collective sense of purpose(as a family unit, a company, a congregation, a nation). I believe this industry is one of our last great bastion’s of hope and symbols of strength, freedom, entrepreneurship and capitalism that this great country has to offer. And we still lead the charge. I say we encourage our brethren to break free of their cubicles, pursue the Great American Dream and take a few of their office mates with them.
September 4th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Greg:
Good article I certainly don’t dispute the facts and figures presented on vacation days for the average American worker. However, just a personal observation I’ve noticed when discussing time off and/or vacations with some of our customers, people seem to migrate toward more “mini” vacations than long term ones.
More and more I see customers getting out for “long” weekends as opposed to the week long variants of the summer vacation.
Maybe this is just a result of having strictly towables versus the larger motorized.
September 4th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
I don’t really think the issue is that there is that much pent up demand for relaxation & vacations…that is not to say we all don’t want it, it’s just that most of the present “over 40″ group that provided most of the actual numbers involved in the studies mentioned…can’t take it.
Just about everyone involved in the “major corporate” world are too afraid to take off the time they really want and/or need…take two weeks off and come back to find your job is gone…if they can get by without you for two weeks, does the company really need you? Forget about your 30 years of solid experience in doing your job, heck just hire the kid out of college for less…and he’s cheaper to insure…and he’ll probably leave in 5-7 years anyway, so the pension question goes out the door. Many of today’s employees are afraid to take the time off.
Timothy Ferriss might be a great author on small business, but I think he’s missing the picture about tracking employee satisfaction at big corporate America. Some one out there might prove me wrong, but I really don’t think that today’s big corporate America really cares about the employee. It does care about the stockholders…it does care about top management and especially those bonus programs.
Can anyone remember when the last time, a company needed to improve profits, that top management said: “How can we improve our product and services to increase sales and thus improve our bottom line?” But, when was the last time you heard: “We are going to lay off several thousand employees to improve our bottom line.” Almost every week. Just look at the stock market…layoffs mean higher stock prices.
September 4th, 2007 at 11:37 am
. . . yeah, and a lot of those Americans who are taking vacations are carrying a laptop to sneak in work.
September 4th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Sounds like we need to revive the “Calgon Take Me Away” commercials and go with “RV….Take Me Away!”
September 3rd, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Maybe we should double the Go RVing media budget and strike while the iron is hot! If we have that much pent up demand for relaxation and vacations with the family, we should find a way to get all those folks into an RV, either one they buy or rent, but get them into an RV!