ly say through the company grapevine. In some organizations, taking all of one's vacation is viewed negatively even by upper management as in, 'he is not a team player or she isn't management material for taking all of her vacation.' There is also resI could hear the frustration in his voice. I was speaking with the general manager of a large retail store. He said his company's policy only allowed him to carry over two weeks of vacation each year. On top of this amount, he found himself consistently losing 3 or 4 days that he could have spent camping, fishing and hunting. In other words he was handing back these extra days to his employer without the time away or just compensation! I was gathering research for an upcoming program on work/life balance at his employer's annual leadership conference and wanted to get some details into what he was facing. This general manager was receiving mixed messages. There were the obvious HR vacation policies, his desire to spend quality time with his family, and the grapevine challenge.

Let's say an employee or manager has accrued 2 or 3 weeks of vacation. A lot of employees would like to take many weeks at one time, but they often don't. They fear what other employees or managers will indirectly say through the company grapevine. In some organizations, taking all of one's vacation is viewed negatively even by upper management as in, 'he is not a team player or she isn't management material for taking all of her vacation.' There is also rese

ly losing 3 or 4 days that he could have spent camping, fishing and hunting. In other words he was handing back these extra days to his employer without the time away or just compensation! I was gathering research for an upcoming program on work/life balance at his employer's annual leadership conference and wanted to get some details into what he was facing. This general manager was receiving mixed messages. There were the obvious HR vacation policies, his desire to spend quality time with his family, and the grapevine challenge.

Let's say an employee or manager has accrued 2 or 3 weeks of vacation. A lot of employees would like to take many weeks at one time, but they often don't. They fear what other employees or managers will indirectly say through the company grapevine. In some organizations, taking all of one's vacation is viewed negatively even by upper management as in, 'he is not a team player or she isn't management material for taking all of her vacation.' There is also res

balance at his employer's annual leadership conference and wanted to get some details into what he was facing. This general manager was receiving mixed messages. There were the obvious HR vacation policies, his desire to spend quality time with his family, and the grapevine challenge.

Let's say an employee or manager has accrued 2 or 3 weeks of vacation. A lot of employees would like to take many weeks at one time, but they often don't. They fear what other employees or managers will indirectly say through the company grapevine. In some organizations, taking all of one's vacation is viewed negatively even by upper management as in, 'he is not a team player or she isn't management material for taking all of her vacation.' There is also res

ily, and the grapevine challenge.

Let's say an employee or manager has accrued 2 or 3 weeks of vacation. A lot of employees would like to take many weeks at one time, but they often don't. They fear what other employees or managers will indirectly say through the company grapevine. In some organizations, taking all of one's vacation is viewed negatively even by upper management as in, 'he is not a team player or she isn't management material for taking all of her vacation.' There is also res

ly say through the company grapevine. In some organizations, taking all of one's vacation is viewed negatively even by upper management as in, 'he is not a team player or she isn't management material for taking all of her vacation.' There is also resentment in the workplace from those who take much less vacation. On top of the grapevine challenge, technology allows more frequent access in places that used to be considered remote. The promise of technology was to enable us to work less. The exact opposite has come to pass. Americans are the most overworked society on the planet.

How can you get over this hurdle? At the end of the day, you must take personal responsibility for your work habits and willingness to take a proper vacation. It's really about mutual respect. You need to show your employer that you respect yourself enough to take the vacation days you rightfully earned. Otherwise, you will make an unhealthy contribution to your employer's bottom line. Why join the estimated 51 Million Americans who are vacation deprived in the Annual Expedia.com Vacation Deprivation Survey. According to the survey, each American adult who is employed will give back an estimated 438 million vacation days in 2007!  This is a free gift back t