Former BP chief Tony Hayward took his family on a one-day excursion to the Isle of Wight this past June for a yacht race. Hayward's yacht was in the race, after all, and he had been "burning the midnight oil" at work since April.

The guy needed a break, right? Hayward may very well have -- perhaps he even deserved a one-day reprieve. But considering that his however brief hiatus took place while oil still gushed from the Gulf floor at the site of the BP rig explosion, and that workers continued to work 24/7 in vain to cap it, well, let's just say that Hayward didn't apply salve to what was already a gaping PR wound.

Which leads us to this item from U.S. News about when NOT to take time off from work. Some scenarios are pretty obvious. Taking time off from work so Thurston Howell-ishly while your company struggles to fix one of the world's worst environmental catastrophes for which it's the responsible party...that would be one of those scenarios.

Here's the list with full explanation here:

  1. When the company is in crisis.
  2. When you haven't planned ahead.
  3. When you're in the middle of a project.
  4. When it's the busiest season for your company.
  5. Immediately following a merger or acquisition.
  6. During executive or key client visits.
  7. Anytime a team member or supervisor leaves.