Holidays — or any day off, really — always seem to offer a mixed blessing.
Sure, it's always nice to have an extra day away from the stress of deadlines and the eternal spring of e-mails, but it always feels like you pay for it as soon as you get back. That voicemail light won't stop blinking, while the e-mails keep pouring in.
Besides, there's enough stress outside the office these days to make a day spent at the office a retreat in itself. And, honestly, how many of us actually get to do fun stuff on those so-called vacation days anyway?
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So, in light of this week's end-of-summer day off, a press release from The Hartford caught my eye. See, the number crunchers over there talked to a bunch of stressed-out workers about not only what's keeping them up at night but how they feel about days off, and what they'd like to do with them.
The survey revealed that most Americans used less than half their vacation time away from home. Worse yet, less than 10 percent of them spent that time on hobbies or any other enjoyable activity.
So, The Hartford researchers asked respondents about their "dream day off." The picks struck me as surprisingly tame, but what do I know? My idea of a dream day off looks a lot like a collegiate flashback — beer, pizza and video games included.
But the grown ups Hartford interviewed would rather spend a day off tinkering around the house with Ty Pennington or sweating it out in the kitchen with Rachel Ray. Some even opted for a round of golf with Tiger Woods. (Speaking of which, I went a few rounds with him on Monday on the Xbox, and I assure you, the experience is overrated. Maybe his knee was bothering him).
Barack Obama — an admittedly trendy pick — ranked as the highest-rated business or government leader to spend the day with. No small wonder, since there would no doubt be a catch, most likely another campaign contribution plea.
So, summer's over and we're all stuck at the office until Thanksgiving. Which ushers in an entire season of stress. At least the kids are back in school.
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