Phone, Fax, E-Mail? Stay Out Of Touch

President Clinton is on vacation in Wyoming. He’ll read, hike, raft, camp, spend time with his daughter and wife. He’ll relax. We hope others take the lead from the man who has the country’s toughest job. You see, something sinister has happened to vacations. Work is creeping into them. This national trend should alarm those who care about their mental and physical health.

An October 1994 survey done for Hilton Hotels found that 19 percent of those surveyed called the office during vacation; 13 percent took work along and 27 percent acknowledged that they were nervous “something would go wrong” at work while they were away. Fax machines, cellular phones and voice mail have made it easier to stay in touch with work. And out of touch with the psyche’s need to recharge.

Writer William Maxwell said it’s essential to “let the well fill.” Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis took every August off. He said he discovered he could do 12 months of work in 11 months, but not in 12. Getting away from it all renews energy.

Behind the work-instead-of-relax trend is the fear of downsizing. In the past two years, 72 percent of the nation’s corporations have reduced the size of their work forces. So some workers feel that they need to work their vacations to show their commitment and indispensability.

This thinking might actually hurt in the long run. Relentless stress has been tied to physical ailments, such as heart attacks. If employees become ill because they’ve failed to take a break from work stress, they are less valuable to a company and more vulnerable at layoff time. And it will be their families - not their bosses - who will take care of them while sick. The families they should have paid attention to while on vacation.

Corporations have no feelings. Nor should they. Author Wayne Dyer wrote: “(Businesses) are not in business for charity and they don’t pretend to be. Therefore any victimizing you experience as a result of your connection to an institution has probably come about because you allowed it to happen.”

In her new book about aging, Gail Sheehy says most people in their 50s feel disenchanted with their jobs, anyway. The men and women who will thrive in their older years are those who develop hobbies and passions outside the job while still in their 30s and 40s.

So this vacation garden, photograph, golf, sing, dance. Or simply do nothing. Just don’t call the office.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rebecca Nappi/For the editorial board