Give yourself a break

Tom Miele couldn't believe the cats.

Dozens of them scurried in and out of the house he visited in February with his wife, Nancy.

"I didn't realize that the guy had so many cats," said Miele, 51, information security manager with Penn National Insurance in Harrisburg.

"That guy" was Ernest Hemingway, and the house was in Key West, Fla. The famous writer ter stayed on and off in the town from the late 1920s until his suicide in 1961. Today, Hemingway's former home is a museum - and a haven for about 60 cats.

Vacations offer more than just engaging anecdotes to relate back at the office. They also help to improve a worker's productivity, according to a survey by Accountemps, a temporary staffing company in Menlo Park, Calif. The company specializes in placing accountants and is a subsidiary of Robert Half International Inc.

Of the 150 executives surveyed, 51 percent said workers were more productive after a vacation, according to Accountemps. Fourteen percent said there was no difference in productivity, and 31 percent said workers were more productive before a vacation.

Despite the benefits, people might have feared taking a break during the economic slowdown of Lite last few years, said Nancy Radke, 47, a district president in Accountemps' Philadelphia office. Workers worried managers might see it as a lack of commitment to the job.

Nonetheless, vacations are important for both employers and employees, Radke said. "Time spent away from the office can help provide a fresh perspective and lead to new ideas."

Vacations also can prevent burnout, Radke said. Burned-out employees, even good ones, are inclined to look for new jobs. With the economy on the mend, they might have better luck finding them.

Vacations might not refresh everyone, said David Hill, 55, a psychology professor at Millersville University in Lancaster County.

People could have such a great vacation that the return to routine is depressing, Hill said.

Or, they could come back to work disappointed that a longedfor vacation didn't live up to its promise.

"To some extent ... we erect very high expectations of ourselves. We should be all things to all peopleperfect and productive at work, perfect and productive as fathers and Mothers and also perfect in recreation and leisure time ... These expectations, they certainly haven't gotten more relaxed and easier in the last 10 years. If anything, they've gotten more intense," he said.

Of course, Accountemps and other staffing companies could benefit financially from people taking more vacations, Radke acknowledged.

Cost-conscious companies might not have enough workers to cover for someone who takes a vacation. Employers can hire temporary help to plug the gaps, she said.

Miele began to appreciate the value of vacations about six years after a conversation with his son, Jeff, from a first marriage. Jeff, 3 1, had been setting aside money throughout the year for an annual trip to Ocean City, Md.

Miele asked himself why he wasn't doing the same thing. "I was taking time off, but I wasn't going anywhere," he said.

His first trip after that was to Phoenix and the Southwest, where he once worked. He hiked, saw friends and visited the Grand Canyon.

The trip to Key West was suggested by his wife, who saw it as an escape from the Central Pennsylvania winter. "We just had a wonderful time," said Nancy Miele, 48.

In addition to visiting the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, the couple also went sailing, rented scooters and marveled at the town's colorful characters.

"We like to go places where we can learn something new," said Tom Miele.

The couple, married for two years, also has visited London and Newport, R.I., where they admired Victorian-era mansions.

Miele said he enjoys his job. But, when he goes away, he puts work aside.

He said he has called into the office only once while on vacation. It was last year, during the massive power outage that struck the Northeast Aug. 14.

The Mieles were in Virginia and Tom wanted to see if things were OK back in Harrisburg.

Most of Pennsylvania was spared from damage during last summer's multistate blackout, which started in Ohio.

A call to the office during vacation isn't the biggest mistake people feel they make when they, are away, according to a survey by OfficeTeam, another staffing subsidiary of Robert Half International.

Indeed, 43 percent of workers surveyed said their biggest mistake was not taking more time off. Only 8 percent said they checked in too much with the office.

Americans could stand to take longer vacations, Miele said. But, he added, the country's industrious culture makes that difficult. People feel they can stand out by working hard.

Miele, who used to run marathons, likened vacations to stopping for a drink of water during a long run. "My muscles would be tired. But, there'd be a refreshed feeling," he said.

He might have to wait a while for his next refresher, which he and his wife hoped to take in California's Napa Valley.

Nancy Miele, a business analyst for health insurer Highmark Blue Shield, is hard at work on a project to convert the company's computer systems.

She said she couldn't get away for more than a long weekend until at least the end of August.