Nada. An entire workday and no one left me one single message.
I assumed it was because most people I know are not working this week. I am. That’s why I’m in Denver. Not to ski. Not to play. But to work. There’s a January 3rd deadline looming.
According to USA Today I─ not my circle of trust─ am in the majority
Employees are getting less paid time off around the holidays than in previous years. With Christmas Day and New Year's falling on successive Saturdays, 33% of companies plan to give workers three or more paid days off this year. Last year's figure was almost twice as high, at 65%, according to the BNA.
But it's not just because of the calendar. During 1999, when Christmas and New Year's Day last fell on Saturdays, half of employers gave workers three or more paid days off. That means that this year more employees will be working on or around the holiday -- adding extra pressure to an already stressed workforce, experts say.
"Employers are being a bit more miserly," says Josh Joseph, BNA's director of research.
The 3500 hundred employees at Grant Thornton, with 50 offices across the country, are also part of the minority. For the first time ever, Grant Thornton which describes itself as “the leading global accounting, tax and business advisory firm dedicated to serving middle-market companies” decided to completely shut down between December 24th and January 3rd.
“People are just too busy to work this time of year," says Jill Osborn, Principal Workplace Solutions at Grant Thornton. Ain’t that the truth.
The firm had given people extra days off last year and it was so appreciated that the company decided to give the entire week off. “We have been busy all year so what better way to say thank you than to give them the week off.”
Given that Grant Thornton is a service firm there is a chance that some clients had their hearts set on doing work this week. In that case, the policy is work this week, take time off later.
Asked just how many employees would opt to work when no one else is in the office, Osborn said, “there’s no way of knowing until after the holidays.”
Has anyone ever calculated the productivity of American Workers during the holiday period? From past experience, not a lot happens…usually.
Which got me thinking about a policy in France.Carolyn Moncel, an American businesswomen living in Paris, once told me how businesses functioned during the famous August holiday season. In Carolyn’s neighborhood there are four bakeries. While many people are off on holiday, there are some people who stay behind. Naturally, they need their baked goods.
To prevent any one baker from having a competitive advantage, they are forbidden from staying open the entire month. In other words, they are required to rotate their store hours so that only one bakery is open on any particular week, and no bakery can stay open the entire time.
Now, naturally no one would even think that " the croissant rule" could work here. But would it be so terrible if work really shut down for a week in this country? The education system shuts down. So do many companies in the manufacturing sector. They say it’s to retool.
Retooling is a great concept.
Could Grant Thornton be starting a trend? Or better yet, Should Grant Thornton being starting a trend?
Would the economy go to hell in a hand basket if more firms gave their official blessing to a holiday week respite? Maybe we could create our own version of " the croissant rule".
Instead of completely shutting down, maybe within each business employees could alternate holiday weeks. Half the staff could take the week before Christmas off-- half the staff could take the week between Christmas and New Years off.
Unofficially, that's what most people do anyway, so why not make it official. It would be so festive.
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