Vacation Time

There is an advantage to having long vacation times that businesses are not taking in to account. It starts with accountants. I've heard many stories that ended with "The accountant was cooking the books." That started with "The accountant went on maternity leave." or "The accountant took their first vacation in fifteen years." That is how they get busted to be honest. Someone has to come in and cover their position for a bit and find the discrepancies. My old accounting professor said he insisted on mandatory vacations for accountants for this reason.

I listen to a podcast called "Simon Mayo" from the BBC. He interviews people and makes all kinds of great radio in my opinion. He takes long vacations and I notice the drop in quality. It is not the fault of people who fill in for him. They do a great job. They are not Simon though, and it shows.

Thing is, the BBC makes do. Simon looks good because the quality drops when he is gone. The people respect Simon because they miss him. If someone else filled in and people complained when that person was gone, then the BBC would have an idea that there is someone better to fill the slot than Simon.

So, I'm trying to make a good case for more vacation time. People in Europe are getting squeezed to work longer hours, still not as long as the U. S. and take less vacation time. I say it is better for business to force people to take vacations and to give them longer vacations.  You will find out who is really needed and who has no backup. No one will listen to me though.