Only employers find cheer in weekend holidays
By Beth Teitell
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 - Updated: 12:05 AM EST
The Rev. Jerry Falwell has his problems with the holiday season, and I’ve got mine. Christmas and New Year’s on a Sunday? Are they kidding? It’s the kiss of death for would-be slackers.
When the holidays fall on a weekend, employees get ripped off.
I’m not even talking about the fact that employers give more paid holidays when the biggies hit during the week than on a Saturday or Sunday. My real beef is the loss of the holiday mood that, in a good year (when Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on a Wednesday), sweeps up two weeks.
Let’s take a look at Christmas past, specifically 2002, when the holidays hit on consecutive Wednesdays. Sure, you had to show up for work for most of the week, but who did any actual work? And who was expected to, really?
Monday and Tuesday were spent in endless discussions of family dysfunction and holiday shopping goals, with an early departure on Tuesday. Then there was the actual holiday, of course, with return to “work” on Thursday and Friday, which were spent debriefing and gorging on leftovers brought from home. The following week, the pattern was repeated. Why, you could almost come to the office in your pajamas.
The way I do the math, if you played your cards right, those two days could be parlayed into two weeks. Now that’s holiday cheer.
Let’s contrast that delightful scenario with what we’ve got this time around. Christmas is a mere four days away and people are still, I kid you not, coming into the office and getting things done. And don’t expect to sneak out early Friday. As of yet, Christmas Eve Eve has not been recognized. Even in a best-case scenario, the most you can possibly squeeze out of the situation is a week and a day of vacation/on-site shirking.
Having a holiday fall on a day that’s already a day off is like having your birthday fall on Christmas and getting a combined present.
In a funk, I called BNA Inc., a Washington, D.C., research and publishing firm, and guess what? It turns out that contrary to popular belief, Wednesday isn’t even necessarily the best day for a holiday. Tuesdays and Thursdays, with their proximity to the weekend and related power to sneak in an extra paid day off, may actually be preferable.
If there’s any solace in the 2005-06 holiday season, it’s this: Saturday’s even lamer than Sunday. Last year, when the holidays landed on a Saturday, only 33 percent of employers gave workers three or more paid days off from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2. This year, 43 percent will.
Oh, gotta go. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve got work to do.
