In the US, it’s common for employees to turn down the opportunity to take vacation days. As the infographic below suggests, this could have a negative impact on both employers and workforces. If you run a business, or you’re an employee, and you haven’t taken time off for as long as you can remember, it’s worth taking a look at this intriguing image in more detail.
Around 53% of employees in low-paying jobs and 80% of workers in mid-high paying jobs have access to paid vacation time. Despite this, uptake is relatively low. Only 16% of traditionalists take vacation days, with the figures higher among millennials (44%) and generation X (53%). In the US, people in the North East are most likely to take advantage of paid leave.
In 2015, 55% of Americans didn’t use their vacation allowance, with employees forfeiting the equivalent of $61.4 billion worth of benefits. The average worker took just 16.2 days off work. The most common reasons for not taking time off were planning to roll days over to take a longer break and having too much work to go on vacation.
Many people might assume that spending more time at work is beneficial for employers, but research suggests that taking time out can actually be mutually advantageous for bosses and employees. Vacations can boost morale, health and wellbeing and make employees more productive, which also benefits the organization. Using vacation time can also contribute to national economic benefits, including $160 billion in total sales and $21 billion in tax revenue.
To capitalize on the benefits of employees taking time off, employers can actively encourage workers to book vacations, introduce measures to promote a healthy work-life balance and enable employees to completely disconnect from work once their out of office email response is active.
Infographic Designed By Norwich University
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