CLOSING CASE ACHIEVING A MORE BALANCED LIFE K. 52 Some companies discourage the use of sick days. Nearly half of the full-time workers in America do not have paid sick days, and those who do have this benefit are often discouraged from using it. 56 Most workers want to succeed and advance at work, yet they also want to schedule time for family, friends, and leisure activities. Many fail in their attempt to achieve this level of work/life balance atherine Garrigan has worked full time at a Chicago museum for almost two years. During that time, the 24-year-old has taken just two short vacations totaling about eight days. Jacqueline Piatt, a 26-year-old account executive at PJ, Inc., a New York-based public relations firm, described her upcoming trip to Barcelona: she plans to spend time at the beach, eat tapas, see the sights, and party until 5:00 a.m. Unfortunately, she has to squeeze it all into one weekend. Her work schedule does not allow for a longer vacation,53 Many Americans have adopted a demanding work ethic that leaves little time for a well- rounded life. U.S. workers tend to work long hours and spend less time on vacation than do workers in many other industrialized countries. Long hours at work usually result in loss of leisure time and less time with family and friends. Con- sider these characteristics of the U.S. workforce: A full 35 percent of the employed workers are not taking all of their paid vacation days. Dur- ing one recent year, Americans failed to take 438 million days of paid vacation.54 McDonalds Corporation offers salaried employ- ees an eight-week paid sabbatical for every 10 years of employment. Sabbaticals, which origi- nated in academia, provide employees time for rest and reflection-a break from 50-hour work weeks. Yet, only 5 percent of American companies offer paid sabbaticals.55 QUESTIONS 1. Many workers do not use all of the paid vaca- tion time they have earned. Assess which factors may influence workers to make this decision 2. Some companies feel vacation can have a positive effect on the personal health of their workers. They believe that workers asked to do more with fewer resources may need their vacation time more than ever. Argue whether employers should require workers to take all of their paid vacation days. Why or why not? 3. Several companies, including Accenture, Cisco Systems, and Wells Fargo, offer paid sabbaticals to employees so they can work as volunteers, improve their education, or learn new skills, for example. Evaluate the advan- tages and disadvantages of this approach to sabbaticals