Early today, I happened to watch a great current affairs program on CSPAN (a US current affairs program that has no ads, real reporters and direct interviews on a daily basis). Several topics began with the one of mandatory holidays and vacations.
The call in program that resulted brought some balanced comments, several crazy ones and a lot in the middle. Most of the rest of the world does not understand the vacation policies of US companies, as they can be best described as less than generous. See most recent report on this topic here.
While I won’t get into the big vacation debate here, it does give us cause for the need for renewal. Every project manager has probably felt those days when you are just “burned out” and can’t handle another problem. We also have probably felt that wonderful feeling when on vacation that enough distance has been placed between you and work that “peaceful” feeling of not thinking about your project occurred.
In the US today, Memorial Day gives us the opportunity to recognize those that have sacrificed for us, at the same time we can reflect on the value of a long weekend with family and friends.
Ready and then refreshed for a new day, and the project that awaits us.
