Many firms see forcing employees to take their allotted time off

The L.A.Times reports:

Like many Americans, Maris Friedman finds it hard to completely chill out on vacation. A senior manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Los Angeles, Friedman says it usually takes her "a few days to decompress," and she finds herself checking her office e-mail daily.

To discourage such behavior, the accounting giant shuts down its U.S. operations between Christmas and New Year's, giving virtually all employees the time off with pay. Friedman calls the hiatus "fantastic. No one's on e-mail, there are no phone calls, no nothing."


Worried about employee burnout and turnover, some employers are forcing workers to take the vacation time they are entitled to. Determined to take some of the "labor" out of Labor Day and other holidays, employers are encouraging these workaholics to switch off their cellphones and log out of e-mail while they're away.

Your labor day story to read.