Join us for National Plan for Vacation Day on January 31, 2023!
In the US, people are taking less and less vacation time every year. Since 2000, vacation usage has been steadily declining, and in 2018 more than half of American workers left a total of 768 million vacation days unused, an increase of 9% from 2017. Being made to feel a sense of shame or guilt from co-workers or supervisors for taking a vacation is not exactly new, but the 2016 Alamo Rent A Car Vacation Survey revealed that “vacation shaming” has become much more prevalent in the American workplace, particularly among Millennials. Almost half (47%) of workers surveyed said they felt a sense of shame or guilt at their workplace for taking time off to go on a vacation and two-fifths (42%) of those think their co-workers are seriously shaming them, and not just joking. Nearly half (47%) said they’ve felt the need to justify to their employer why they’re using their vacation days.
What’s alarming about these numbers is that vacation shaming is effective in stopping people from taking time off, even when that time is owed to the worker. And when workers do not take time off, stress can build, leading to a decline in both mental AND physical health. Numerous studies have shown that taking vacations can offset these health detriments, including a study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the University of California, San Francisco, and Harvard Medical School that showed vacations to have a strong impact on both stress and immune pathways and can provide short-term improvements in overall well-being. Generally, taking time off is associated with:
- Higher worker productivity & performance
- More positive attitudes toward work
- Increased happiness, both at work and at home
- Improved mental and physical health
- Better relationships and social life.
Knowing that vacations are good for us, how can we overcome pressures (whether from others or from our own sense of guilt) to leave vacation days on the table? An organization called Project: Time Off has a solution.
What Is National Plan For Vacation Day?
According to the U.S. Travel Association, National Plan for Vacation Day is a day set aside at the beginning of the year (in late January) to encourage Americans to plan their vacation days for the rest of the year. The U.S. Travel Association recognizes that less than half (49%) of households set aside time to plan the use of their vacation time each year, despite the fact that planning in advance is key to actually making the vacation happen. They have also found that people who plan their time off in advance are more likely to use all of their allotted vacation time and are also more likely to take longer vacations (a full week or more).
Atlantic Vacation Homes wants to help you reclaim your vacations and reclaim your life. Keep your resolution to travel more by planning now for your next vacation on Boston’s North Shore. A beach vacation is just what the doctor ordered!
Call our Guest Experience Specialists toll-free at (888) 973-3864 or book online.