Shortened workdays before big holidays are an increasingly rare occurrence, finds a survey released by Hudson Employment, a New York-based staffing and outsourcing company. Half of the workers surveyed responded that their companies do not offer them any extra flexibility around the holidays, and 54 percent say their office is no more casual during the holidays than in the rest of the year. This is despite the fact that 37 percent of the work force admits to being less productive around the holidays. Increasingly, workers are simply not taking paid days off from work, even when weeks are made available to them. More than one-third (37 percent) of respondents said they anticipate not using all of their time off this year. Fourteen percent of respondents polled said they <A HREF="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2062442,00.asp?kc=EWNAVEMNL112206EOAD">hadn't taken a vacation this year</A> longer than a long weekend, while 24 percent of workers reported that they had not taken a single vacation day this year.