While it may not rival Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, a case could be made that the American workplace is still pushing for productivity gains at the expense of its workers. 

At least that's a perspective you could take from the fact that 40% of workers did not take a single week of vacation off as a block in 2006 (Experience Life magazine, March 2008) and fewer than 14% of Americans take the traditional two-week block of vacation time.  Expedia.com found that even though Americans on average are promised two weeks of vacation, they give back three days a year so they won't be seen as slackers if they take their due time off.

Couple this with the dubious honor of Americans having the poorest health of any industrialized nation despite spending more per capita on healthcare.  In 1980, Americans ranked 11th worldwide in life longevity, and now are 42nd.  This drop is due to a lack of personal time, according to John de Graaf, coauthor of Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic.  He believes that overwork means people spend less time with friends and family, less time exercising or eating healthy, less time decompressing and reenergizing.

The perspective to consider here is not one of paying workers to not work.  Instead, the perspective is how to keep the intellectual talent of your organization running optimally.  Fresh workers go beyond simply providing service, they can transcend to provide satisfaction to your customers.

To understand your current situation, look at how many employees did not take all of their vacation or personal days.  Then look at how many folks work excessively long hours each day, or those that take work home evenings or weekends.  If this is commonplace in your organization, what is the cause of this need?

Are employees producing work that has no value?  How many reports contain useless data?  How many pieces of information collected are unused?  How many tasks or procedures are linked to workflows that are inefficient or ineffective?  What tasks can be automated or eliminated with upgraded technology?  How much cross training allows several people to handle tasks--thus allowing others to take their time off without a loss of support or productivity?

People today want to be contributing members of your organization. They also want balance in their lives.  Properly designed workflows and processes can give you both.  And in so doing, you can enjoy a healthier workforce, a more productive workforce.  Your customers will continue to experience superior satisfaction.  On the cost side, your productivity will increase when employees have a balanced life that allows them ample time to reenergive.  And healthcare costs may just begin to inch down!