Americans suck at taking time off work—even when it’s offered, and even when it’s paid for. And then when we do go, most of us find it hard to fully unplug while we’re supposedly “away.”
A Glassdoor survey has found that the average U.S. employee only takes about half of their eligible vacation time, two-thirds of us work while on vacation, and less than a quarter of us will take all the time we’re offered.
Brian Lehrer on WNYC opened up his phone lines on Thursday to ask why we aren’t using our vacation time. The answers he received ranged from waiting until the last minute (and then feeling too busy to justify the time off), to an office culture that correlates time off with a lack of dedication.
One caller, who says she works for a small business, received an email in August of last year that informed employees the office would be closed for a period of time around Christmas and New Year’s and to “please plan your vacation days accordingly.”
Some employees had already used most of their vacation days and were then forced to take at least a portion of that time off without pay, the caller said.
Many countries around the world set minimums for the amount of time off a worker is entitled to. Those minimums include 30 days in Brazil and Spain, four weeks in Australia and New Zealand, about 28 days in the United Kingdom, 25 days in Denmark and Sweden, and five weeks in France, according to Business Insider.
The United States Department of Labor does not set a legal minimum for paid leave. Still, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that 76% of Americans who work in private industry have access to at least some paid vacation.
If you’re among that group, we want to know: Do you use all your days? Do you fully unplug when you do? And why or why not?
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