The chart shows results of a Gallup poll asking about Americans' vacation experiences. Do we return from vacation refreshed? No. Americans are more tired after their vacations than before they left. A little over a third of working adults said they had to put in more hours in the office the week before their vacation, contributing to the finding that 46% of those surveyed felt tired before the vacation began; and 54% of those polled described themselves as tired on returning home. Happily, 30% of those who went on a cruise felt well rested on their return. Of those visiting family, 12% were exhausted on return.
A 1995 survey of Americans elicited this information: 23% worked while on vacation, 40% caught up on work-related reading, 35% called in to check with the boss, 29% caught up on paperwork, 18% learned a new work skill. The survey did not report how many took their laptops on vacation, but we know from a 2001 survey conducted by travel planners Vacation Coach, that 33% of 400 adults polled online felt they had too much work to go on vacation, 11% were concerned that their job wouldn't be there when they got back, and 20% said they never take vacations.
Vacations are supposed to be good for us. Do these findings mean that we should cross them off our agenda? Perhaps our vacations are too short to do us good. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, full-time employees in medium and large private establishments averaged 9.6 days of paid vacation per year after one year on the job (1997). At 10 years, vacation days rose to 16.9. Compare this to the 4 to 6 weeks of paid vacation enjoyed by Europeans and Australians each year.
The consequences of overwork and no vacation? Arthur Waskow, caretaker of the Free Our Time Web site (www.freeourtime.org), notes that "the workings of American society work increasingly to squeeze dry the time for spirit, family and community. Without [a] sense of dignity, rooted in economic as well as spiritual realities, work becomes ill-paid, ill-respected, dishonored, and degrading, rather than dependable, financially sustaining, meaningful, honorable." No wonder we are stressed!
Top Ten Stress-Inducting Events
| Life Event | Value |
| 1. Death of spouse | 100 |
| 2. Divorce | 73 |
| 3. Marital separation | 65 |
| 4. Jail term | 63 |
| 5. Death of close family member | 63 |
| 6. Personal injury or illness | 53 |
| 7. Marriage | 50 |
| 8. Being fired from work | 47 |
| 9. Reconciliation with spouse | 45 |
| 10. Retirement | 45 |
In these four panels, we have looked at some of the events in a typical working person's life that might cause stress. What about major life stresses? In 1967, Holmes and Rahe introduced a scale that ranks life events according to how stressful they are. The table shows the top 10 (of more thanth their point value. It was discovered that in 79% of the persons studied, when more than 300 stress points accumulated in one year, major illness followed.
Are there ways to mitigate stress? Exercise is an oft-mentioned remedy. And if you're a woman, you're ahead of the game — German researchers think that female sex hormones may blunt the impact of stress. Or try cooperation. The New York Times notes: "Scientists have discovered that the small, brave act of cooperating with another person, of choosing trust over cynicism, generosity over selfishness, makes the brain light up with quiet joy."
Before concluding this chapter on risky behavior, we will take a look at two risk behaviors that have gained popularity despite warnings against them: tanning and tattooing.
Sources: Chart: John O'Neill, "Vital Signs: Reactions: Needing Vacation After a Vacation," The New York Times, July 23, 2002, (de- scribes a survey of 1,000 Americans who had taken a vacation in the last year, sponsored by Sanofi-Synthelabo Inc., manufacturers of a sleep medication and other pharmaceuticals). Natalie Angier, "Why We're So Nice: We're Wired to Cooperate," The New York Times, July 23, 2002. Holmes, T.H. and Rahe, R.H. The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychomatic Research 1967; 11: 213-17. Table: "Divorce Recovery," http://www.divorcerecovery.net/resources/change/Soc.readj.scale.PDF. Joe Robinson, "4 Weeks Vacation for Everyone!" Utne Reader, Sept/Oct 2000. BLS, "Paid vacation and length of service," http://www.bls.gov/. "Females handle stress better than males," UPI, November 13, 2001. Steelcase/Bruskin Goldring Research 1995 survey (http://www.isdesignet.com). For VacationCoach survey results, see (http://www.vacationcoach.com/aboutvaco/ewsroom/pressrel_hrsurvey.html).
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