Survey
All work, no play enough to make workers sick
The combination of all work and no play is making Americans sick, according to a survey by Oxford Health Plans.
A study of 632 men and women found that nearly one in five U.S. workers can't use up annual vacation time because their jobs are so demanding. A third never leave the building where their offices are located once they arrive at work, the same number that simultaneously work and eat their lunch. The pace of work is so relentless for 34 percent of respondents that they never have downtime.
"This survey is a wake-up call for Americans to realize that taking a vacation is not a frivolous behavior," said Dr. Alan Muney, chief medical officer and executive vice president at Oxford. "It is essential to staying healthy."
The Trumbull, Conn.-based health maintenance organization also repeated the well-known fact that the average U.S. worker gets the least vacation time among leading industrialized nations. Where Italian workers are given 42 vacation days, Americans receive 13.
Workplace
Coffee becomes office perk
Upscale coffee and beverages such as cappuccino, espresso and latte are becoming de rigueur at many companies.
"When you get hot black water versus Seattle's Best or Starbucks, it makes a real statement about you as an employer or you as a client," said Richard Wyckoff, president of Philadelphia-based Aramark Refreshment Services. "It's the difference between a pat on the back and a slap on the face."
The number of gourmet coffee drinkers in the U.S. shot up 18 percent last year, Wyckoff said, citing a National Coffee Assn. study. The report also showed that outside of home, the office is the preferred locale for coffee consumption.
Wyckoff even linked the country's financial health to the availability of quality joe.
"How do you keep the 24-7 economy moving if you don't have a good cup of coffee?" he asked.
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