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A couple of weeks ago, we talked about shorter working weeks resulting in increased productivity and happier employees. Along the same kind of theme, we would suggest that vacations are good for the soul – and productivity. We are in the middle of vacation season yet there are still many people in North America, apparently, who do not use their vacation time.   So why should we take vacations? Check out the link below: 10 Health Benefits of Taking a Vacation   So why don’t people take their vacations? It takes us back to the North American work ethic that we talked of in our last post – an ethic that is rarer in Europe where mandatory vacation allowances tend to be far more generous. So, if you haven’t taken a vacation this year – and no, long weeken ...

The North American work ethic pervades most businesses, with many people not even taking all of their meagre two-week annual vacation allowance and employees often at their desks long after 5 pm. Yet Europeans are frequently confounded by this attitude – vacation allowances of five or six weeks a year are common there, often coupled with long lunch hours or siestas, particularly in Mediterranean countries. More recently, some businesses in Sweden have begun experimenting with a six-hour work day. Yes, you did read that correctly; employees get the same salary for working two fewer hours each and every day. The result? Reportedly happier employees and improved productivity. Could this work in the US or Canada? Fear of competition, of being outperformed by rivals or even ambitious coll ...

Last weekend was a long weekend in most of North America; Canada Day (July 1) and Independence Day (July 4) in the U.S. This summer weekend of celebration falls not only close to the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere, but also at the halfway mark of the year. Yes, 2016 is now more than halfway through; we have passed the summer solstice and the days are already growing shorter, a sobering thought. As we wind down a little and enjoy the long hot lazy days of summer, maybe even take a few days off, it’s not a bad time to take stock of the year so far. How has your business fared in the first half of 2016?   Taking stock can provide a clear indicator of what you’re doing right and where your business is heading, or possibly give you a wake-up call that things are ...