I found this article to be fairly disturbing. I see one like it every few months. This particular item jumped out at me:
There are a number of theories about why Americans don't demand more vacation time: fear of leaving work that will pile up in their absence; fear that other employees will show more devotion to the job and get promoted above them; a distaste for relating to a mate and children outside of their tightly structured lives; and they've been convinced that economic success depends on subservience to employers who control their work lives.
The worst thing about it is that I know people who 100% buy into any of these factors and combine them with a sense of duty and obligation to some ridiculous ideal associated with being a good person.
What the hell for? Are people living in so much fear of losing... something... that they can't break out of this cycle?
I can't totally pretend that I've always been immune to this. I remember being fairly depressed when I got laid-off in 2001. I placed so much of my own self-worth in my job that not having one, or not being able to find one, just ripped at my self-esteem. In a way though, it was that experience that eventually led me to believe that depending on The Man for validation, both emotional and financial, is a sure way to be miserable.
It's easy to write off what is being said in that story with, "I have a mortgage and four kids to feed." I really can sympathize with that. At the same time, I believe you are also free to make choices that can change things.
It has been my experience that working the long hours and enduring a lot of stress, without taking that vital time off, or even asking for that time off, is no way to live. That's just not what life is about. I think it's about love, getting in touch with yourself, connecting with others and really doing your thing. Work can help empower you to experience all of that, but only if you stop working long enough to do it all.
Some people have jobs that really feed their souls. I'd say mine does maybe 50% of the time. (And at least in my case, The Man drives a hybrid and does not appear to be an idiot.) Obviously I need to fill the rest of that soul hunger in other ways, and you can be damn sure that when 4:45 rolls around every afternoon, I'm out of there to "eat."
Work to live, not live to work.
Unfortunately, those of us who have to work to live can't always take the time off. I, at least, am lucky enough to have vacation time even if I can only take it when my boss finds it convenient and I have to schedule around others who have less senority than I, but get preference.
But, that's why I always try to take a week off before the fall rush...to recoup and rejuvenate before having to deal with the stress. Classes don't start until tomorrow and I still ended up working overtime tonight.