Taking holidays, vacations

You can have all the laws in the world, but if the culture isn't amenable things won't happen. 
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So the policies may be there but if they are not reinforced, or your colleagues don't think it's OK for you to take your holiday, then it's not going to happen.
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Our increasing reluctance to take proper holidays is directly related to the state of the economy.
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We are living in an age of austerity. 
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It becomes more prevalent to hold on to your job for love nor money and if that means forgoing holiday to do so, so be it.
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Many families now find themselves doing "shift parenting" where the six-week school break in the summer is covered by both parents taking it in turns to do childcare. 
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It's basically separate parenting, where the family is no longer a family. 
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School holidays are too long and parents can't take enough time off to cover them.
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Technology is also a big factor. 
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Twenty years ago it was possible to go away and forget about what was going on in the office because it simply wasn't that easy to stay connected. 
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Nowadays it's a different story. 
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Now when on holiday many if not most check their email every day.
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There is not an expectation to do this, although most do.
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Interestingly, country norms have a great bearing on what holidays people take.
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Take those who work for Swiss company's, they seem very keen for everyone to take their time due, plus they can even buy extra holiday if they want.
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The Dutch are famous for taking long holidays and in this case, this has to do with long agreed traditions. 
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Germans and French also have a strong tradition of taking their holiday entitlements as do those from Nordic countries.
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Teachers have historically always had plenty of time off, although this in itself can bring another whole set of problems.  
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Then there is the whole question of how to look after children during long holidays from school.
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Maybe that is part of the reason why people don't take all their holiday, because it is such hard work keeping the children entertained. 
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The summer can be a real struggle for many couples
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It's even more difficult for men. 
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According to the Thomson Holidays research, only 51 per cent of 8-12-year-olds are happy with the amount of time they spend with their dad. 
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For those who are self-employed some take long holidays but most manage to take a fortnight off every summer and a week at Christmas, that's it for the whole year. 
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The reality is most would love to take more time off, but  just can't turn down the work.
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The tendency among men to take even less holiday is annoying because the onus then falls on the mother. 
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It would be much easier for mothers if men would take time off in the holidays particularly.
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So whether we are heading the way of workaholic nations such as America and Japan, where they seem to get by on just a few days a year, remains to be seen. 
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But the signs are already here. 
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It is interesting to see how many people are willing to lose holidays or would rather be paid than take time off.
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It seems we are living in a world where none of us simply ever have enough time to get all our work done.
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Or more honestly a fear of losing our jobs keeps us from taking our holidays.
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And so far few British employers seem to understand that working your employees hard is fine so long as they also understand the importance of those employees having time to recharge their batteries.
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On the evidence so far it appears that this is not the case.
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Shame really.
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So what is your own life all about then?