Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska

Wanda's Diary Entries

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

I first met John de Graaf back in 1993, when he read “Simple Living,” the book I co-wrote with my former husband that had just been published in paperback by Penguin. John was so taken with our book that he invited Frank and me to be a part of his PBS special “Running Out of Time” and brought his camera crew from Seattle to our orchard in Southwest Virginia to film us for his program. Over the years, we’ve become good friends, and John has taken the message of his public TV special to heart, devoting much of his life to his passion for improving work-life balance in America.

This Thursday morning, in Washington, DC, John and I will get together once again as we appear at a Congressional press conference in support of legislation mandating paid vacation leave. The legislation is sponsored by Congressman Alan Grayson, freshman Democrat of Florida.

John has been working actively for this bill — the first paid vacation bill in United States history. This bill, “Paid Vacation Act of 2009,” is a modest proposal that would give two weeks time to workers in large firms, one week to workers in firms with at least 100 employees, after one year of employment. John hopes the bill will be strengthened over time. “The US is one of only a handful of countries that don’t mandate paid vacation time,” he says. “We’re right up there with Burma on this. By contrast, all Europeans get at least four weeks off by law and many get six. It’s not a luxury. Studies show vacation time is essential for your health. People who don’t take regular vacations are far more likely to suffer from heart disease or depression. It’s also essential to family bonding and provides the strongest memories many adults have of their childhood and family.”

Back in 2002, together with several colleagues, John started the group TAKE BACK YOUR TIME (www.timeday.org), and since then the group has been working for such policy initiatives as paid parental leave, paid sick days, and options, like those in Europe that allow workers to reduce their hours without losing their jobs or healthcare, so long as they are willing to earn less and have their benefits pro-rated. “Such policies give real choice to people,” John says. “They allow them to live more simply but without risking a complete loss of income and benefits. It’s actually a very concrete form of freedom for people.”

“We’re not anti-work,” John says. “In fact, we know that useful work that contributes to society is essential for people’s well-being. Everyone needs time off for restoration and to take care of their health and families. You know, the great naturalist John Muir once said that ‘compulsory education is a good thing but compulsory recreation might be even better.’ I think he had something there.”

FORBES magazine recently ran a story about the world’s happiest countries. The United States didn’t even make the top ten. One thing that characterized all the countries that were included was great attention to work-life balance and strong focus on leisure time. Not coincidentally, all of these countries were also doing well economically. I’m with John when he says, “It’s time to re-think our obsession with producing and consuming things and turn our attention to our need for time to be of service, connect with others, appreciate the beauty of nature and restore our health.”