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Americans work more hours annually on average than any of their counterparts in other countries. It’s no wonder that, even when we’re given a holiday or a vacation to relax, we still manage to pack it with so many activities and errands that it hardly feels like a vacation at all. We’ve got to get a tree. We take the kids to see Santa. We send out scores of greeting cards. We throw elaborate parties. We have to cook elaborate meals for those parties. We shop for every sibling, parent, cousin, aunt, uncle, insurance agent, and former classmate we can think of. We have to do work around the house, of course. And it never fails that one of your kids or the neighbors’ kids will get hurt playing in the snow, taking you to the emergency room at least once. We do meals-on-wheels because it’s the time of year for giving and so on. As employees straggle back into the office, the saying circulates: "I feel like I need another vacation to recover from my vacation." The insanely diligent workers of America just don’t know how to relax and enjoy the true meaning of vacation.

Dictionary.com defines a vacation as "a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday." While employees look forward to their vacations with great anticipation, we often fail to "suspend" our work activities. As a bunch of hard-working go-getters, rest and relaxation do not come so naturally to us, no matter how much we anxiously await these breaks. As it happens, there is also a perfectly sound business reason for employees to take vacations. Like a saw that is constantly sawing away at dense logs, so our skills, abilities, and minds become dulled over time if we continue toiling without any substantial period of rejuvenation. Research has found that truly effective, restorative vacations must be more than two weeks long and must remove most elements of the daily grind.

What does this mean for all those about to start the holiday vacation? If you’re going to take a vacation from work, take a vacation from work. Vacate the daily grind completely. When you return to the job, you will feel rested, relaxed, and ready to charge into the fray. Check out the following suggestions to help you make your holiday vacation a true vacation:

1. Leave the company cell and laptop at the office. I know, it’s like cutting off one of your appendages. Actually, it’s like cutting off your leash, leaving you free to inhale, exhale, and feel human again. One former co-worker of mine decided to take a week-long vacation down to the beautiful Outer Banks of North Carolina. With the trees and the seashore this can be one of the prettiest drives you can take. It would be him, his wife, and their kids on that long, relaxing drive and then in a beach house just enjoying each other’s company. Unfortunately, my friend made the mistake of bringing his cell phone with him and telling us to call him if we had any problems.

Sure enough, we had problems arise the next day. So we called my friend as he was on that beautiful stretch of highway. For two hours, instead of relaxing or having some one-on-one time with his wife, he was on the phone with us explaining the definition of a sump and the importance it held for the construction of gas station fueling systems. He was called several more times during the week for various "emergencies." Needless to say, he wasn’t on vacation. When he returned from vacation, as you could guess, he was just as crabby, stressed out, and irate as usual.

When you leave the office, unplug and leave the laptop, PDA, Blackberry, and/or cell at the door. Don’t worry- they gave you the vacation and they can survive without you.

2. Leave home. Many folks find it hard to relax when they stay at home for their vacation. Why? Because the normal chores and errands are constantly around you. And those projects you’ve been postponing are beckoning for your attention. Your dishes are calling to be washed. Your hedges are calling to be trimmed. The kitchen cabinets are crying to be cleaned and rearranged. That new deck is waiting to be built. And your garage… well, I won’t even start on that one. The point is, if you stay around them long enough, you will give in to the temptation to work, and then the whole resting thing is blown.

Eventually, of course, these things need to be done. However, if you really need some serious rejuvenation, you might consider leaving town. Although travel can be costly and hectic at this time of year, there are many desirable benefits to traveling. For example, the chores and errands magically disappear. You can’t work on the garage because it’s hundreds of miles away. You can tell the dishes to take a hike because you’re on a tropical beach in the South Pacific soaking up some rays, or in a cozy cabin in Vermont breathing some crisp, clean air. With someone else providing meals and housekeeping, you are free to put in some serious relaxation and quality time with your loved ones.

3. Get your shopping done early. When I say early, I mean earlier than Black Friday. Attempting any kind of shopping after that date will most certainly increase your blood pressure and chase away any holiday cheer. Crazy parents elbow their competitors fiercely to get at that last Optimus Prime. Stressed check-out counter operators look like they’re hanging on to sanity by a thread. Creepy inflatable Santas sway slowly back and forth and emit annoying Christmas jingles. Kids are screaming and acting way too naughty to actually deserve that pile of presents in the shopping cart.

You are not relaxing. You are getting ready to reach over and give that kid the lump of coal he deserves. Now, I know what you’re thinking: "Black Friday is long gone. What good does this advice do me now?" For this holiday season, none. But next year, you’ll be glad you read this.

4. Schedule in some R&R. It’s so tempting to use your free time to the fullest, scheduling as many activities in as possible. Activities are good, however, too many activities equal a decrease in relaxation and an increase in stress. Repeat after me: you are on vacation to relax, not to do a lot of activities.

So, let’s skip that white elephant gift exchange at your third cousin once removed Jack’s house and just have a night in with the kids watching the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special. Now we’re talking some genuine chill time. And who doesn’t shed a tear when that crazy Yukon Cornelius tumbles down that chasm with the Abominable Snowman?

5. Sit, drink some hot cocoa, and smell the pines. Amidst the flurry of activities, take the time to meditate and enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells around you. Watch the snow fall. Listen to some carolers. Savor a nice warm mug of cider or cocoa. Have a snowball fight with some kids.

The holiday season can be a magical time. For many, it is a time of gratitude, hope, and renewed devotion. Don’t let this vacation go by without appreciating the things that matter most. Having successfully chilled during your holiday vacation, you will come back a more alert and able employee. What do you do to relax for the holidays?

About the author Marcus Varner earned his BA in English from Brigham Young University with a Creative Writing emphasis. He is currently in his second year at BYU’s lauded MBA program studying Marketing. He blogs, writes fiction and screenplays, loves movies, and can’t resist playing superheroes with his kids.

When you are a minority, it’s not easy being hired by a diversity-focused company or attending a diversity-focused school. It is common to wonder if you were only hired for your race. It’s also common to wonder if your co-workers think you were hired for your skin color. Some folks, particularly those who feel disadvantaged by diversity initiatives, will even resent you for coming in the back door, so to speak. Needless to say, the shadow of diversity initiatives hangs over you.

Take me, for instance. I was attracted to a well-known MBA program by diversity recruiters looking to boost the the school’s diversity rating. They were infamous for being low on women and minorities. My GMAT score was good but still sub-average for their program. So was my GPA. At the time, I didn’t have any managerial experience to speak of. When I sent them an email expressing my interest in their program, they pursued me vigorously.

They took me to lunch. They let me apply without the required two years of work experience. They personally ushered my application through the admissions committee. To get the work experience, they were willing to introduce me to their very best corporate contacts. Once I started the program, I would be given generous scholarships to help with education costs. My interview was tantamount to a friendly chat with a close uncle.

It goes without saying that I was wooed and agreed to attend their program. I was happy that I had been admitted to such a great program, but I wondered about the ease of the whole process.

For my non-minority counterparts, on the other hand, the admissions experience was quite a different story. They had to focus on getting their GMAT scores and GPAs as high as possible. Some retook the test multiple times. Others were hounded about lack of work experience. The admissions committee and their secretaries dealt with them with an iron hand. They had to fight to get through the gatekeepers and talk to any administrative folks. No scholarships were promised nor help with finding work experience. Their interviews were intense grilling sessions. When they got accepted to the program, they felt they had accomplished something incredible.

Naturally, when I started the program, I heard my fellow students’ admissions experiences and began to wonder about my worthiness to be in the same program with them. When I told them about my experience, their comments were always something like “Must be nice being a minority” or “That’s not right. It’s just because you’re brown.”

I had mixed feelings toward these comments. My inner Malcom X wanted to shout, “I deserve a free ride for the four hundred years of oppression my people went through.” But then I remembered that I was Hawaiian-Japanese, and both cultures had never been subject to slavery. Part of me reasoned, “They’re probably right. I wouldn’t have gotten in if it weren’t for my skin color.” These thoughts had me seriously debating my worthiness to be in the program. Still another part of me insisted, “No, your GMAT score was good enough, and your GPA was average. You deserve to be here as much as anybody else.” I hoped that was so, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t. Not a good way to start a competitive program.

For all of the good intentions behind diversity initiatives, manipulating groups, whether through affirmative action or changing diversity hiring policies, to become more integrated rarely has the intended results. Because it puts the spotlight on the candidate’s race or color, race is perceived as the deciding factor. This perception hurts the minority and those who are pushed aside by diversity initiatives, and it undermines the very goal of diversity. Instead of creating a happy family of different races working together, many improperly executed diversity initiatives generate harmful sibling rivalry.

About the author
Marcus Varner earned his BA in English from Brigham Young University with a Creative Writing emphasis. He is currently in his second year at BYU’s lauded MBA program studying Marketing. He blogs, writes fiction and screenplays, loves movies, and can’t resist playing superheroes with his kids.

Our director stood before the group to announce a new diversity initiative from corporate headquarters. “If two candidates possessed equal qualifications and experience and one was a white male and the other an underrepresented minority,” he said clumsily, “we would hire the minority.”

A gasp of shock went up from the group, which consisted of people of Ethiopian, Egyptian, Korean, Italian, Jewish, Danish, Hispanic, West Indian, Filipino, Irish, and German descent, male and female. A woman raised her hand. “Why does it matter whether they are a minority or not?” she demanded. Others nodded in agreement.

Struggling to recover, the director said, “Studies show that diversity is good for business. It brings in fresh ideas and perspectives. Companies do best when the ethnic makeup of their workforce closely mirrors that of the population they serve.”

Eyes rolled. Arms folded across chests. Sighs of dissatisfaction issued from group members like steam from geysers. The director finished his presentation about how the company was so excited to start recruiting more diverse faces and about how the company would be changing its hiring practices to bring in more diversity and its management training program to promote more minorities. He stopped just short of asking everyone to bring in their brown and black friends for a special referral bonus.

This situation raised some of the key issues about corporate America’s clumsy obsession with diversity that has bloomed in the last decade.

Research aside, no self-respecting minority wants to be hired on the basis of their color. Decades ago, the Civil Rights movement pushed for equality for all Americans regardless of skin color, race, etc. Minorities just want to be seen as people. Thus, when a corporate manager leans down and tells them he wants to hire them because their race or skin color will improve the bottom line, minorities get a little offended. Minorities want to be hired for the same reason that everyone else is, for their technical knowledge, past job performance, education, etc.

On the other side, Caucasian males begin to feel the pinch of reverse discrimination. After all, it doesn’t seem fair that they should miss out on a promotion because a Hispanic female is also in the running. It’s not fair that they should be turned down for a job because an African-American male, who is no more qualified than they are, was born black. No, diversity is not fair. It has moved from excluding one ethnic group to excluding another.

In the abstract, is diversity in the workplace a good thing? Sure. It would be wonderful if every workplace in America could reflect the rich mix of cultures and races that this country has to offer. Employees would be better informed, more open to revolutionary ideas. Companies would be able to identify and take advantage of new markets with more ease.

This current incarnation of affirmative action or diversity or whatever buzzword you choose, however, simply views minorities as an input to accomplish an end. It falsely supposes that if you just throw a Hispanic into Process A it will automatically produce Item B. Such a human resources policy is insulting to both Caucasian males and their minority counterparts.

Instead of using such a policy, companies would do well to take a broader, more enlightened, organic approach to diversifying their workforce. Instead of collecting members of different ethnic groups, companies should focus on eliminating racial bias in recruiting and promoting. They should focus on training hiring managers to eliminate race and color altogether from their vision and to see only those candidate qualities that matter to the job itself.

This would not be an easy task. Centuries of categorization and stereotyping, much of it subconscious, create this almost uncontrollable urge to form impressions of people without knowing a thing about them. Corporate America, however, must find a viable training solution to eliminate this habit among its managers. Artificial and, let’s face it, disingenuous efforts like the current diversity craze will only incur dangerous backlash from those who suffer because of it.

About the author
Marcus Varner earned his BA in English from Brigham Young University with a Creative Writing emphasis. He is currently in his second year at BYU’s lauded MBA program studying Marketing. He blogs, writes fiction and screenplays, loves movies, and can’t resist playing superheroes with his kids.