Comments on: Demanding That Workers Take a Vacation—or Else

By: Patrick Smitowski

Patrick Smitowski — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:01:20 +0000

I wonder if Chrysler is doing this for plant maintenance purposes or simply trying to whittle away at accrued vacation pay liabilities among its workforce, especially if they anticipate laying off employees. I don’t know how much vacation time employees can carry over from year to year but 4 weeks is pretty generous and for many can be challenging to use.

By: Walter Haines

Walter Haines — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:16:21 +0000

It is commonplace at many of these companies to attempt to reduce payroll by overworking managers typically with non exempt tasks, depriving them of overtime pay, etc. Is it a wonder service is poor?

By: Toni

Toni — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:08:41 +0000

One book after the other is published informing us of the newest, best way to manage staff–and not one of them recommends the heavy hand that many managers apply. Study after study seem to reveal that the most successful companies are those the have more rational, humanistic leaders–and yet, it seems that few boards of directors are listening. How is it that they can be so above the frey that they don’t see the demolition of formerly great companies by tyrants like Nardelli, et al?

By: hrisfun

hrisfun — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:47:56 +0000

I was required to take a mandatory vacation. I already have a routine regarding yearly vaction time and it does not coincide with our shutdown. The best vacation is when all my children are at camp and they have been going to the same camp for 10 years…. so me and my husband are allowed a get away. Now that I am in manufacturing we are not afforded this much needed get away. So, for me a mandatory shut down and vacation takes away my freedom to choose what is best for me — and I do not like it.

By: Diane Aull

Diane Aull — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:16:44 +0000

I agree the timing of the announcement was — shall we say — less than optimal. Very bad form on the part of all members of senior management, who are just as responsible for the situation as Nardelli, IMO. But every manufacturing facility where I’ve ever worked has had a mandatory shutdown of at least a week, sometimes two, at some point over the summer, usually around the July 4 holiday. It was a time to conduct machine, tool and facilities maintenance that would otherwise have disrupted production. So personally I wouldn’t have found the requirement to take vacation to be a problem.