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Paid time off is a benefit that a majority of companies offer; yet a new study by Oxford Economics found that employees are not taking advantage of these vacation days.
In 2013, Americans let 169 million days of paid time off go to waste, forfeiting $52.4 billion in time-off benefits. This decline can be seen through average amount of vacation days used it 2000, 20.3 days, compared to the average amount of vacation days used it 2013, 16 days.
In a CNN article, Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, says “28 percent of workers surveyed said they’ve declined to take earned days off in order to illustrate their dedication to the job…But it does them no good whatsoever. People who take more time off tend to get more raises and promotions.”
Many U.S. companies are evaluating how they offer vacation time. Some are getting rid of vacation days altogether and encourage employees to ask their supervisors for time off as they need it. Other companies are not allowing days to roll over year-to-year, forcing employees to use vacation days or they lose them completely. Even more, employers are offering rewards to those that use all of their vacation days. These extremes are being taken because it is proven that regular vacation time leads more productive employees.
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