If you hadn’t noticed, it’s already December 1st. For those of you with vacation that has not been taken this year, you are running out of time to use it, and fast.
Most surprising to me was a survey from the online travel site Expedia (the “Vacation Deprivation” online survey) that the average American worker earned 14 vacation days this year but will only take 12 of them. This follows a similar survey by Hotwire released in November which found that the average American employee leaves 6.2 days of paid vacation days unused at the end of each year. Another survey by JetBlue also released last month found most Americans will forfeit an average of 11 days — more than two weeks off — this year.
While even just two forfeited days of vacation may not seem like a lot to you, it can really add up. Altogether, at two forfeited vacation days a year, Americans would be giving up 226 million unused vacation days this year. If you use the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculation that the average full-time worker earns a little under $40k a year ($39,416 to be exact), that means at least $34.3 billion worth of off time is being squandered.
Why wouldn’t you use all of your allotted time off? The Expedia survey suggests that the most common reason most workers say they chose to stay at work, is that they really can’t afford to travel, Expedia also said that “lack of planning” was the second-most-cited excuse among those surveyed.
But other experts believe the current economic malaise is equally to be blamed, As “…companies are doing more with less, people have a hard time taking vacation because there’s so much work to do,” said Jennie Dede, vice president of recruiting for job placement firm Adecco. No doubt there is also a feeling among many that they need to put in the face time in the office, Stuart Rubinstein, managing director at TD Ameritrade said that “…they worry that being out of the office might make them next on the list.”
Hotwire’s survey even went as far as indicating that 57% of working Americans will have unused vacation time at the end of the year. However, I’m not totally buying the one comment from Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group that “too many Americans are getting caught up in their everyday routine and are either forgetting to use their vacation or assuming travel for the remainder of the year is too expensive.”
Heck, take a day off and go spend a day seeing local sights. You’d be surprised how many interesting things there are within just a couple of hours by car. State parks, zoos, and museums are just a few examples. The reality is most managers know you should take the time to enjoy your family, your life, and come back recharged.
So when are you taking off, even if it’s just for a day or two??
