The Furlough Chronicles

Some might argue that the best part of a job is getting away from it all, compliments of the cherished vacation. These days, more and more workers are getting additional time off but not exactly on their own terms. Companies struggling to keep budgets in line are requiring employees to take furloughs, which typically have been associated with paid leave for military personnel or maybe auto workers with fat union contracts. 

Most furloughs that we’re hearing about now, however, come without pay. The forced holidays have undoubtedly incited a great deal of grumbling, which tends to subside when people realize that the furloughs will probably help save their jobs. And once the situation is accepted, it’s time to figure out what to do: Hang out at home? Look for another job? Hop in the family truckster and travel the country? 

We asked readers to share their furlough adventures with us. A few names have been changed (they’re within quotation marks) because the subjects worried if they identified themselves or their companies those furloughs might become permanent. –Phil Borchmann 

Name: “Clark Griswold” 
Employer: Southwest Florida television station 
Occupation: Account executive 
Furlough days: One day per month for eight months 
The adventure: I had a furlough day recently and decided to take my son on a weekend cruise for his 23rd birthday. Forty-eight hours before departing he indicated to me that he had some great news and a statement to make. The great news was he upgraded our cabin to the bowels of the ship. The statement was he invited his girlfriend of six weeks to join us. Yikes! We were on the party floor, so needless to say there were trips to the front desk or calls to security every night to report disturbances. When we arrived at the port, we were greeted by three immigration officers. They proceeded to arrest the girlfriend and keep her in jail for 10 hours because she missed a court date for a minor watercraft incident many years earlier. My son also had a big interview scheduled with a cruise line that day. [He and his girlfriend] had partied a little too hard the night before so his hands were shaking during the interview and he smelled of alcohol. He thought he had aced it. Needless to say he didn’t get the job. Is that bad karma or what? 

Name: Ryan Hiraki 
Employer: The News-Press 
Occupation: Government and political reporter 
Furlough days: Five days per quarter 
The adventure: I went to Washington, D.C. How ironic is that; I’m a government and political reporter. I stayed with a friend I grew up with in Hawaii. We’ve known each other since I was eight and she was nine, but I haven’t talked to her since I was 16. We found each other on Facebook. We went to the National Museum of American History. They had a great wing of all things Abraham Lincoln, one of my heroes. We also met up with other friends who live [around D.C.]. We went out to eat and generally enjoyed each other’s company. On my previous furlough days, I just hung out in Fort Myers and got chores and errands done. Washington was much more satisfying. 

Name: Stephanie Cuthbertson 
Employer: The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce 
Occupation: Vice president of community relations 
Furlough days: 10 days for the fiscal year 
The adventure: I took my unpaid vacation and went to the Dominican Republic for a kitesurfing adventure last month.  I flew into the north part of the island and then took a cab to a small beautiful surf town called Cabarete (the windsurfing and kitesurfing capital of the world).  The DR is literally in our backyard; only a two-hour flight from Miami and extremely affordable. The $29 per night includes breakfast and dinner. I went with the intention of learning the sport and after three days of lessons I was up and riding! I looked at it as a positive experience. It was one of the best weeks of my life, even if it was unpaid vacation! 

Name: “Ellen Griswold” 
Employer: Newspaper 
Occupation: Ad sales 
Furlough days: One week each quarter this year 
The adventure: What I did was network prior to that week. I spoke with many people who offered freebies! During my first-quarter furlough, I stayed for three nights in a three-bedroom condo resort in Orlando. Because it was fully furnished, I cooked our family meals so that we didn’t have the expense of eating out.  Someone else I spoke with had four free tickets to Sea World, so we spent a day there as well. It basically cost us a tank of gas. My second furlough is approaching, so I did the same thing—networked!  I once again have the condo for three nights and also managed to get four free tickets to a baseball game in Tampa. Now we are also talking about doing a tour at one of the time-shares while we are there to extend our trip. Should we do that, we will not only have a nice place to stay but also tickets to another theme park. You gotta get creative!  Take advantage of the time off and enjoy it instead of sitting around wondering how you are going to pay your mortgage!