> But if increasing vacation time makes your employees happier and you also get more productive work out of them, why don't the companies that switch then get all of the best employees and eat the lunch of everyone else?
Because marketplaces aren't as competitive as you think they are. An advantage in one factor isn't sufficient to decisively kill off a competitor.
To give an example: Do you think one could find ten people who could each do a better job than your local muffler shop? Do you think one could find ten people who could each create a company that would eventually do a better job than IBM? Than Yahoo? Than Facebook? Then why does IBM still exist?
How come, in a competitive marketplace, corporations still make decisions based on where the CEO lives and who the executives play golf with?
Because marketplaces aren't as competitive as you think they are. An advantage in one factor isn't sufficient to decisively kill off a competitor.
To give an example: Do you think one could find ten people who could each do a better job than your local muffler shop? Do you think one could find ten people who could each create a company that would eventually do a better job than IBM? Than Yahoo? Than Facebook? Then why does IBM still exist?
How come, in a competitive marketplace, corporations still make decisions based on where the CEO lives and who the executives play golf with?