The high cost of gas is keeping workers closer to home.

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AP / Marcio Jose Sanchez

The long, relaxing vacation may be a thing of the past.

According to a survey of human resources managers conducted by the Chicago-based employment consultant firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the old two-week vacation has already given way to week-long breaks. The trend now is toward even shorter, but more frequent, three- or four-day getaways.

John Challenger, CEO of the company, suggests three reasons for the trend.

One is the high price of gasoline, which affects all forms of travel, whether it’s by automobile or airplane.

Another is job instability. Some employees are concerned that being away from the office for a long period will make them more vulnerable to layoffs. “Those who are out of touch for a week or more will be remembered, and not in a good way, particularly if some kind of crisis arises during the absence,” Challenger said.

Finally, the weakness of the dollar against many foreign currencies has made foreign travel very pricey.

“This might be the vacation to just stay home with a couple of good books,” Challenger said in a phone interview last week.

The company suggested planning vacations around an existing long weekend to minimize time away from work and maximize time off.

Challenger said the need to stay connected at work might be partly driven by worries about the economic changes, but it is also a response to changes in the nature of work, particularly for people under 40. In an era of BlackBerries, laptop computers and cell phones, people expect an instant response, Challenger said.

But if you take your work with you on vacation, are you really getting the break you need?

“No,” said Challenger. “You probably don’t come back as refreshed as you should be.”

He said the decision to stay connected while on vacation should depend on the workplace culture — some companies expect you to be available at a moment’s notice, while others do not. (One way to make sure you’re isolated, he said, is to take an “adventure vacation,” such as rafting in Nepal.)

For those who need to stay in touch, Challenger, Gray & Christmas provide some pointers:

•Inform key contacts that you will be taking a vacation, and provide names and contact information for your backups within the company.

•Change your voicemail to indicate you are on vacation and set up an automatic e-mail response. Indicate your return date and the name of a contact in the company who can be reached if the matter can’t wait.

•Check e-mail and voicemail, and respond to situations requiring immediate assistance. Keep your boss informed of what you’ve done to avoid miscommunications and duplicate effort.

•If you are a manager, leave employees a list of tasks to complete while you’re gone. This will help them focus, and help keep your mind off what they are doing, or not doing.

•Before leaving, make a list of tasks that you should address when you get back. This will help you get back into the swing of things upon your return.

asmith@projo.com