The Latest Recession Victim: Time Off

Compiled ByTonya Vinas After years of one of the most virulent economic downturns in recent U.S. history, executives need to get away. But fewer of them will. A recent survey of 730 executives found that 47% won't be using all of their vacation time this year, and of that group, 58% said job demands is the primary reason they will be desk bound. Management Recruiters International (MRI), Cleveland, a search and recruitment firm and subsidiary of CDI Corp., conducted the survey. "There's a sense in corporate America that this is the year to knuckle down and stay at your desk," says Allen Salikof, president and CEO of MRI. "Usually executives prize their vacation time as essential to recharging their batteries. But with the economy continuing to limp along, executives are hoping a little extra elbow grease will help revitalize corporate health more quickly." Smaller staffs doing more work also are keeping executives from taking as much time off as they would like, and air travel concerns are making for shorter, closer-to-home vacations when executives can manage to squeeze them in.