Korn Ferry recently published a survey of over 400 executives about their vacation plans and while the results were not startling, they were telling. 67% of the respondents indicated that they had either postponed or cancelled their vacations due to the demands at work and the majority (57%) did not expect to use all of their available vacation days. In today's business environment, it is a badge of courage to announce that you are cancelling or deferring a planned vacation or day off for the sake of work.

Another not so surprising factlet was that 88% of the executives indicated that while on vacation, they maintain connectivity to their office either by email or text messaging. The bottom line is that American business is not unplugging sufficiently to recover and recharge. Alas, today's executives are under immense pressure to drive performance and growth, however according to Kevin Cashman, a Senior Partner and organizational consultant with Korn Ferry, “individuals who take time off are proven to be more productive, have higher morale, and are less likely to make critical mistakes.”

Now mind you, I am not advocating that we adopt the French ways of more vacation than work, but come on, take the time off with your spouse, kids, or friends and comrades and they will be grateful and you'll again be sharp as a tack.