Top Management not Using Days Off

Press Release: May 16, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 13, 2011) – People feel the need to work harder than ever in order to stay afloat. Taking work home, not taking paid time off, and staying connected even during time off, are just a few of the ways professionals in the A/E/P and environmental industry are managing to work more. Even top management is taking on more work, ZweigWhite’s 2011 Principals, Partners and Owners Survey suggests. Although it’s clear that firm leaders are working more than ever, most using a median of five days less paid time off than they are given, they may not be spending more time at the office. Of the hours worked, respondents say they spend 71% of that time in the office, 8% in clients’ offices, 5% at project sites, 6% at home, 5% at industry events, and 1% “other.” Technology may be partially, if not entirely, responsible for this phenomenon. TY Lin International CFO Tony Peterson says, “Certainly the technology today has made us all far more productive. Along with this comes higher expectations from our clients and coworkers, thus longer weeks and less time to recharge. However, at some point we must draw the line and put down the iPhone or BlackBerry.” But what is that line? Mark Zweig, ZweigWhite CEO speaks of “the BlackBerry prayer” – that moment at lunch where everyone is looking down with their hands clasped around their smartphones, and he doesn’t think it’s a bad thing! To Zweig, responsiveness is key, and staying linked is absolutely necessary. “Everyone has to be overcommitted. Then it works. If something falls off, something else is there ready to take its place,” he says. “Over committing is where the consistency and higher than typical profits come from.” According to the Principals, Partners and Owners Survey, the vast majority of principals (88%) check in with their office and/or clients while away on vacation. Principals who check in with the office and/or clients during vacation do so a median of five times per week. For more information on the 2011 Principals, Partners and Owners Survey go to www.zweigwhite.com Press Contact: Christina Zweig christinaz@zweigwhite.com www.zweigwhite.com