"AT THE BREAKING POINT, PASSING UP VACATION"

Vacation deprived? Washington Post article with no relevance to this blog besides a mentioning of my friend, his recent visit to Chicago and my wedding:

For Thomas Kim, it's a combination of all those factors that has left him vacationless for longer than he can remember. Kim runs a Web and software development firm in Washington that recently merged with a lobbying organization. Between that and a 1-year-old, Kim and his wife, a lawyer, haven't had a vacation "in a couple of years."

Other than a long weekend to Chicago for a recent wedding, they have mostly been tied to their work. Kim said that although owning his own business may make it hard to get away, it also offers a more flexible environment, so he can take longer lunches or stay home if his son is sick.

But still, he said, that's no vacation. "It would be wonderful to just kind of get away and unplug for a week and recoup, reenergize myself. But I don't really feel like it's an absolute necessity right now," he said. "And if I were to go away, I'm sure I'd still check e-mail or bring my BlackBerry."

Kim's not alone in that no-vacation vacation so many people take. According to the survey, 16 percent of respondents checked work e-mail or voice mail while vacationing. ( Just 16 percent?) (full article)