Survey: Workers happy with vacation benefits

Alana Roberts

Friday, Nov. 26, 2004 | 11:10 a.m.

One of the best things about work is earning time to get away from it, workers say.

Now that the holiday season is here and many workers begin to prepare for time off, local workers say they have mixed opinions about the amount of vacation time their jobs allow.

"Our vacation accrues with our holiday pay," Kevin Starcovic, 44, of Henderson said. He said at his job as an optical scanning technician at HCA Inc.'s business offices in Las Vegas, he earns vacation time throughout the year. He has worked at HCA for a year.

"It's taken out of the same bank (with) sick and holiday pay. It equals to a little over two weeks a year. Two weeks is nothing," Starcovic said.

He spoke during a recent evening shift manning the fitness room desk at his part-time job at the city of Henderson's Downtown Recreation Center. That job doesn't offer any paid vacation time.

Starcovic's comments differed from those of Erin Dillon, 35, of Henderson, who spoke after finishing a fitness training session at the recreation center the same evening. Dillon is a regional manager at Marriott International Inc. She has worked at Marriott for 11 years.

"I get a lot of vacation time," Dillon said. "I don't take vacation. I'm a workaholic; I'd rather save it. I probably take less than two weeks a year. I actually have five weeks. I'm happy with the vacation time, I just don't take it."

Although local workers offered mixed opinions about their vacation time, a survey commissioned by staffing firm OfficeTeam shows a majority of workers are satisfied with their vacation time. The company used an independent firm to poll 573 U.S. workers about their satisfaction with the amount of vacation time they get from their employers. Of those polled, 59 percent said they were very satisfied with it.

Maureen Carrig, an OfficeTeam spokeswoman, said the results are an indication that many companies offer enhanced vacation time to entice workers. OfficeTeam, which staffs workers in administrative roles has three offices in Nevada, one in Las Vegas, another in Summerlin and a third in Reno.

"During lean years when companies didn't have budgets to offer raises and bonuses, many offered vacation days to employees," Carrig said. "I think what we're seeing is employees felt their work-life balance was being met," she said about the survey.

However, Starcovic said the standard two-week vacation offering many American companies give employees after a year pales to the four-to-six paid weeks of vacation time many European companies offer employees.

"We have some European friends," Starcovic said. "You set aside money while you're working. When you take your vacation they pay you (with the accrued money saved from the rest of the year)."

Ann McGinley, an employment law professor at UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law, said the European standard may be undergoing a change.

"In Europe, ironically, they're moving toward the American model," McGinley said. "Companies in Europe say they can't compete because American companies are moving there."

McGinley said more generous vacation time makes for less-stressed employees.

"I think the European model is healthier," she said. "Most European companies give at least four weeks in addition to holidays. I think it would be best to be somewhere in between (the American and European models)."

She also said vacation is important to the image employees have of their companies.

"They're more important for the long term," McGinley said. "Employers don't seem to expect employees to stay. If we were to go back to the old ways, if we wanted to keep people that would be a way of reducing educational costs. Good employment policies, including good benefits, which would include good vacation time, is a way of doing that."

Rick Vaillancourt, former president of the Southern Nevada Human Resources Association, and president of human resources consulting firm Training and Development Consultants, agreed with McGinley's comments.

"I think largely they're (workers) more concerned about a benefit package," Vaillancourt said. "I agree, most people are reasonably satisfied with their vacations. I think the focus has largely been on the (health) benefits. I think in the trade off of health benefits verses time off or increased vacation time, the health benefits would win hands down."