Hi HO Hi HO It's off to work we go!

The other day a coworker, head in his hands, informed me he was leaving early to go get a massage. "This place is just different," he lamented. When I asked what he meant, he sighed that he had just never worked somewhere where people so actively avoided leisure time.

I've thought for a while that there was something kind of special about NYC work culture. And not like, the good kind of special....

Back at my old job in Latin America, colleagues would think I was crazy if I spent lunchtime huddled at my desk shoving food down my mouth as quickly as possible, feigning to still be getting work done whilst eating. Similarly, I might get some surprised and horrified stares if I informed my boss I would be opting out of my vacation time this year- as for Semana Santa and Navidad- nah, won't be necessary.

A sharp contrast indeed from here, where I have not had a work free vacation since moving back last August. Granted, being a student plays some role in this. However, even when I attempted to leverage some vacation time at one of my two offices, the mini (albeit much needed) break ended up getting pushed off for another 2 months, despite my humble presentation of the facts: no days off since last August, plus grad school and marriage, make Homer, go cRaZy? Don't mind if I do!

What has changed about the nature of work that we can no longer afford just the 45 minutes to sit down with some of our coworkers and chat while eating our leftovers? Why are we so overwhelmed that parting with our part-time research assistant for 3 days of QTwith her man sends us into a panic?

I'm going to go out on a limb here: we are less productive. That's right, I said it. I don't know about you, but if I know my boss is going to be stingy about my vacation no matter what, I haven't seen any meaningful raises recently, and I'm probably going to be shamed into staying late whether I need to or not, I sure as heck am not going to bust my ass while I'm at my desk. Not to mention the trillions of chat vehicles we are allowed, sometimes even required, to keep open at all times.

With no lunch to look forward to, no upcoming trips, and miles to go before you sleep, it is no wonder we're in a vicious cycle of "working" all the time, but less efficiently with each pop.

I think the Europeans hands down have us beat on this. By mandating vacations, and keeping those mealtimes sacred (maybe even throwing in some attractive extras like maternity leave and day care), you don't just get productivity. You get a life.