Why we're not taking vacations and why we should

Have you ever looked at your paycheck stub and found yourself surprised by the number of vacation days you’ve accumulated? Do you sometimes doubt you’ll ever be able to pull yourself away from the daily grind to actually use the time off? If so, you’re not alone. An Expedia.com study found that roughly one-third of American workers don’t take all the vacation time they have coming.

Americans make terrible vacationers

Since 2000 the rate of American workers planning a vacation in the next six months has been declining. Only 39% plan on getting away from it all during the next half-year. What’s worse is Exepedia’s survey found the U.S. has the “worst vacationing habits.” Though Americans on average receive the least vacation days per year (14 days), they tend to leave the most days off on the table (35%). Compare that to our French friends who get 36 days and take 33 of those days.

Why do we cling to our cubicles year-round?

Lancaster, PA workplace expert Ira Wolfe shared some theories with Lancaster Sunday News.

“I think part of it is the competitive environment,” Wolfe. “People fear losing their jobs or what will happen when they’re gone.”

Changing workplace culture comes into play too. As jobs continue to become more and more specialized, it’s difficult for other workers to fill in for someone when they’re off on holiday—so the work doesn’t get done. “There’s a mindset that it is almost not worth it to go away because of the crush before you go and the crush of catching up when you come back,” Wolfe said.

It’s all well and good to try to avoid that kind of stress, but by not taking a break, we’re not doing ourselves any favors in the area of our productivity and our overall health.

A vacation wouldn’t kill you!

In fact, studies suggest it does quite the opposite. The benefits of taking time off are bountiful, including:

• A longer life expectancy — a nine-year study of middle-aged men at high risk for heart disease were 20% less likely to die of any cause and 50% less likely to die of a heart attack if they took frequent vacations.
  
  
• Feeling better and getting more done — many workers actually reported feeling more confident about their jobs and more productive upon returning from vacation.
  
  
• Better sleep — after only a few days of vacation a study showed people averaged one more hour of sleep than usual. This continued after the break, and their reaction times improved by 80%.
  

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