In offices and worksites all over the U.S., employees are choosing to work rather than take vacation days. About 41 percent of workers forfeit some of their annual vacation time, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Travel Association.
Why would workers report to their retail job rather than jetting off to Hawaii or packing their kids for a car trip to Yellowstone?
“There are mixed feelings on vacation time, and these feelings depend heavily on the company culture,” says Amy Marcum, senior human resources specialist in the McLean, Va. office of Insperity. Forfeited vacation days are most common in commission-based sales, and in the hospitality, HVAC and construction industries, Marcum says.
Matt Paddock has noted a heroic aspect to working 80 or 100 hours in a week. “And almost regardless of results, which I think is kind of weird,” says the general manager of Norfolk, Va.-based digital agency Grow, a company which is trying to change this attitude toward vacation. “If we see a person who’s putting in extraordinary effort and getting extraordinary results, that’s a great story. But if your work culture is just about putting in more effort regardless of the results, it’s the classic working smarter/harder equation. Why would you let somebody just kill themselves, coming in on the weekends, working nights, unless there’s a real clear ROI on it?”
The Shrinking Vacation
Unlike most other countries, employment in the U.S. is predominantly at-will. Unless a worker has a contract stating otherwise—or lives in Montana, the one state with a good cause rule—an employer can terminate him or her whenever, without a reason. Wages, benefits and paid time off can also be altered at the employer’s discretion. In fact, the U.S. is one of the few countries in the world that doesn’t require employers to provide paid holidays and paid vacation. About 23 percent of American workers get zero. It’s no wonder that many Americans regard vacations as a privilege rather than a right.
From 1976 until 2000, American workers averaged 20.3 days in annual vacation. But in 2000, the number began steadily slipping. Recession and layoffs meant that fewer workers had more responsibilities. And a huge pool of unemployed people were knocking at the door, hungry for a job.
In a recession environment with at-will employment, workers didn’t want to be seen as less than 110 percent committed. By 2014, the average vacation days taken had slipped to just 16, according to the U.S. Travel Association study. This adds up to $52.4 billion of discarded benefits every year.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever talked to somebody who said, ‘If I take the time, I’ll lose my job,’” says Paddock. “I think it’s more death by a thousand cuts. If you take the time routinely, there could be the perception that you aren’t working as hard as other people, you’re not as committed as other people.”
Benefits
However, vacationing has measurable benefits. Studies sponsored by both the National Institutes of Health’s Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Framingham Heart Study showed non-vacationers faced dramatically increased odds of dying of heart disease or heart attacks. Other studies concluded that vacationers decreased their stress and depression, and increased their workplace productivity.
And the anecdotal evidence is obvious. “Employees typically return to work re-energized and are able to focus and be more productive than prior to the vacation,” says Marcum. “They will also be in a happier mood, which can be contagious in the workplace.”
Companies’ Efforts to Encourage Vacations
Depending on your company’s culture, you may or may not be encouraged to take vacation time. “There are still some employers that send mixed signals to staff about utilizing vacation days by saying the benefit is there for employees but then either not approving dates that are requested or making backhanded comments about the employee’s time away,” Marcum says.
Other companies want to avoid the liability of having excessive unspent vacation hours on their books. Plus, they see the productivity benefits in workers who vacation. These employers remind workers about unused vacation time, but employees still may resist taking time off.
As a fast-paced, project-based firm, Grow had many of these resistant employees. “They basically say, ‘We’ll take that time at the end of the project,’” says Paddock. “But of course after that project there’s another one.” He admires their motivation: “People don’t want to leave their teammates in the lurch.”
So Grow decided to close shop for a week at Christmas and during the Fourth of July week. “We have to tell clients we’re shutting down for a week. That is a huge deal.” But the improved morale and employee retention are worth it.
A Vacation Plan
How do you avoid being what the U.S. Travel Association terms “a work martyr?” First, accept that time off is good for you and good for your company. Then plan ahead. Put those vacation dates on the calendar and arrange your work accordingly. When you return from vacation, share a few photos and vacation stories with your colleagues. You might inspire them to use their vacation time, too.
Randal Houle, a family service counselor in the funeral industry, has changed his attitude about taking days off. “I have skipped vacation time in the past, but I’m unlikely to do so in future years,” he says. “I was in a commission-only job, so taking time off cost me money. For the last couple years, I have been very good to myself. Now I plan ahead for vacation and make it part of my business plan. I no longer see it as lost opportunity but an investment in myself and in fact why I actually work.”