I had not thought of furloughs as an opportunity for Americans and others to learn how to enjoy their play time until I read Time will tell (FT, July 1, 2009).
Those who will most enjoy the 'forced' time off brought upon us by the recession have a cushion to fall back on. If you are scraping to get by, working less will be a source of stress.
Anita Bruzzese in Will Furloughs Change the American Workplace Forever? (45 Things, March 09) gets Lynnette Harris personal take on these hours of free time:
"Her first thought was that is was a much better alternative than making layoffs.
Her second thought was that she would finally have time to wade through her book club’s selection this month: the 900-page classic, “Don Quixote.”
“You can grouse about the furlough, but you can also look at it another way. So, I choose to think that I’ll be home to have a girls spa day with my daughter. I’ll clean out a couple of closets while the witnesses are at school and won’t stop me from donating things they haven’t used in years to a local second-hand store.”
Cali Yost offered a “Downsizing Flexibility Champions”—Alternatives to Layoffs Honor Roll (Fast Company Expert Blog, May 09) with a global list of companies and the way they cope with the challenges they face.
Getting back to Time will Tell, it chooses as an example Martin Thomas who "is at the forefront of a shift in working habits sweeping the world. The product manager at British Airways has just decided to take a month off without pay this summer and then work part-time for the following 14 months – and that is precisely what the lossmaking airline wants. “It was an opportunity to give some focused time that I wouldn’t have been able to commit to if this opportunity hadn’t presented itself,” says Mr Thomas, who will help his parents set up a charity in Wales as well as enjoying more time with his wife and two daughters."
As for the short time fruits of his break, Martin Thomas says in the same piece “The first priority of my unpaid leave is to recharge the batteries ... I’m also hoping that my month off coincides with some rather nice summer sun.”
You could also contribute to the Summer of Social Good which runs until August 28, 2009.
Are you taking a longer Independence Day Week-End?
No Vacation Nation #3
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