There are many reasons to take a vacation. The current socio-political climate or a need to detox yourself of social media and the tech addiction, all purposes add on to why Americans took more leave in recent years.
Time Off, a group affiliated with the U.S. Travel Association, published conclusions of the study on American employees and the way they spend their time off. Between January 4th and 23rd, 2018, online interviews were conducted by them with workers who work more than 35 hours a week and receive paid time off. Studies found that 52 percent of Americans do not utilize all the vacation time they are eligible to, meaning a significant 705 million days went unused in 2017 overall.
The gist of why or why not Americans take a vacation:
The 17.2 days of holiday that an average American took in 2017 marks the maximum level for American holiday usage since 2010. It is still a far cry from the 20.3 days the typical American made between 1978 and 2000. The worse part is that of those 17.2 days, only a mean of 8 vacations people spend on traveling. Nearly a quarter of Americans don’t travel at all, even though the majority of 84 percent stated that using their vacation days to see the world was essential to them.
The significance of this can’t be understated, given that those who use most of their time off as a vacation to travel stated feeling 30% happier with the way they spent than those who did little or no travel of any sought. Those who took more travel vacays reported being more satisfied with the company, their job, personal relationships, and their health and well-being.
Why are they not doing it? If Americans wish to travel, have the time to do so, and know it’ll make them happier. A few of the obstacles to travel reported by Americans include children, cash problems, pets, and safety concerns. But the men and women who left the most vacation days unused, which is 61 percent, did so because they were worried it would make them seem replaceable at work.
Millennials want to maintain their regular work schedule and travel that gave rise to the recent trend of vacations at work, thereby enabling them to experience another country without needing to sacrifice any time off. Even if you’re an old-fashioned, clock-in/clock-out kind of employee, you shouldn’t worry that your job will jeopardize by taking time off to explore the world.
The analysis found that there is a disconnect between the way workers and managers see vacation time, for example, 62 percent of workers said their company discourages, sends mixed messages, or says nothing about holiday time. Another 54 percent think their company doesn’t even want them to discuss their holiday with colleagues when they return. But 70 percent of managers said they want employees to use all of their off time, and 64 percent claimed when they return that they should feel free to talk about the trip.
Almost half of the supervisors said that people turn vacation days down because there is not enough notice. If you do want to amp up the amount of traveling, you do look at planning ahead. The study also found that those who planned their holiday far in advance were 10 percent more likely to use all of their days up.
In conclusion
No matter what the situation is at your workplace, go ahead, and claim your leave. If not traveling, then spend time with your loved ones and take control of your life. The supervisors and managers will say a lot about you vacationing. But when you do claim your holidays, they cannot lawfully barge you to do so.
