VacationTime:TheReasonsAmericansDontUseIt,WhyTheyShould,andHowThey

DifferFromtheRestoftheWorld

Preparedfor:

Mrs.DedePaquette,CommArtsInstructor
HamiltonHighSchool

Preparedby:

AngelaLeDonne
HamiltonHighSchool

Abstract
VacationTime:TheReasonsAmericansDontUseIt,WhyTheyShould,andHowThey
DifferFromtheRestoftheWorld
Preparedby: AngelaLeDonne,HamiltonHighSchool
CurrentlythereisalargeamountofAmericanswhodonotutilizetheirallottedvacation
time.Thegoalofthispaperistoexplainthebenefitsoftakingtimeoff,toidentifysome
commonreasonswhyAmericanshavesuchahardtimeutilizingtheirallottedvacationtime,and
todemonstratehowothercountriesintheworlddifferinbeliefsrelatingtotimeoff.Thescope
ofthispaperislimitedtothebenefitstotheindividualandtheirorganizationanddoesnot
includetheeffectsontheeconomy.Inshort,itwasdeterminedthatAmericansblametheirlack
ofvacationtimeutilizationonlackoftimeandmoneyaswellasfearofwhatotherswillthink.It
isconcludedthatthesereasoningsdonotoutwaythebenefitsofincreasedproductivityandjob
satisfactionthatcomefromtakingtimeoff.Americansshouldtaketimeoffandthisissupported
bythefactthatcountrieslikeBritainandtheNetherlandsmandatevacationtimeandhave
increasedjobsatisfaction.

Contents
Abstract_____________________________________________________________________2
Introduction________________________________________________________________45
Methods_____________________________________________________________________6
Results___________________________________________________________________610
Conclusion_______________________________________________________________1011
Bibliography________________________________________________________________12

Introduction
InAmericanowadaysitseemslikeeveryonesliferevolvesaroundwork.Kidsare
expectedtogotocollegeinordertogetagoodjobbecauseworkingishowpeoplemakemoney.
WorkingiseverythinginAmericaandthestatisticsshowthat.AccordingtotheOrganizationfor
EconomicCooperationandDevelopment(OECD),Americanswork1,778hoursayear,which
ishigherthantheOECDaverage(Larsen,2013).Inaddition,theOECDsaysthereisanaverage
of9%ofpeopleintheworldwhoworkmorethan50hoursperweek,butinAmerica,this
percentageishighercloseto11%(Larsen,2013).Allofthisboilsdowntothefactthat
Americansworkalotandoftenwithoutbreaksorvacations.
NotonlydoAmericansworkmorethanaverage,theyalsodonottakemuchtimeoffor
givethemselvesachancetorecharge.Forexample,inVenturaCounty(CA),morethan84,000
hoursinvacationtimewerepaidouttothosewhoquitorretired(Muhmel,2007).Thatmeans
therewere84,000hoursofunusedvacationinthatonecountyalone.Anaverageof12vacation
daysperworkergounusedeveryyear(Bednar,2014),andabout69%ofAmericansdonttake
theirallottedvacationtime(Takingtimeoffmakessense,2014).
WorklifebalanceisnotastrongsuitforAmericans.Accordingtothe2011BetterLife
IndexfromOECD,theUnitedStatesis23rdoutof23countriesforworklifebalance(Larsen,
2013).ItisoftenfoundthatpeopleinAmericawouldratherskipafamilyvacationinfavorof
working(Feintzeig,2014).Evenwhenpeopledotaketheirvacation,theydonteverreallystop
working.Workersonvacationoftenkeeptheirworkcellphonesonthematalltimesand
frequentlychecktheiremails(Muhmel,2007).InAmericathebalancebetweenworkand
personallifeisgreatlytippedinfavorofwork.

Americansworktoomuchanddontusetheirtimeoffwhichisaproblem.Thereareso
manybenefitstotheindividualandthecompanythatarebeingmissedouton.Thegoalofthis
paperistoexplainthesebenefits,toidentifysomecommonreasonswhyAmericanshavesucha
hardtimeutilizingtheirallottedvacationtime,andtodemonstratehowothercountriesinthe
worlddifferinbeliefsrelatingtotimeoff.
Inconstructingthispaper,anumberofarticlesfromdatabaseswereusedtocompilethis
information.First,howAmericansdoordonotusetheirvacationtimewasresearched,andupon
discoveringtheydontuseit,informationonwhytheydontandwhytheyshouldwas
researched.Theentiretyofthispaperisfocusedonthebenefitsoftimeoffonindividualsandthe
workplace,notonhowanyofthisaffectstheeconomy.
Themostsignificantfindingsareasfollows:
Americansworkasignificantamountofhours.
Americansdonotliketotakeoffofworkmostlyduetolackofmoneyand/orfear
ofwhatfellowemployeeswillthink.
Takingtimeoffisbeneficialbecauseitcanreducestressandincreasejob
satisfactionandproductivityintheworkplace.
OthercountriessuchasEnglandandtheNetherlandshavemandatedvacation
timeandalsoincreasedjobsatisfaction.
Basedonthisresearch,itcanbeconcludedthattheAmericanswhoworktoomuchor
dontusetheirvacationtime,nomatterthereason,aremissingoutonallthebenefitsoftaking
timeawayfromworkdespitethefactthatothercountriesarelivingproofthatthesebenefits
exist.

Methods
Whileconductingmyresearch,Icompletedthefollowingtasks:
IdidsomebackgroundresearchonthistopicofinteresttodeterminewhichaspectI
wantedtofocuson.
Icollectedaseriesofsourcesrelatedtothetopicfromdatabases,andtooknotesonthe
importantinformation.
Usingnotesheetsandasynthesisgrid,Iproducedanoutlinetohelpconstructarough
draft.

Results
Americansdontmakevacationtimeapriority,buttherehavebeenmultiplestudieswith
resultsthatindicatetheyshouldtakemoretimeoff.1in5Americansfeelworkisveryor
extremelystressful(Tahmaseb,2007).ThismeanstherearealotofAmericanswhoare
sufferingfromthenegativeeffectsofstress.AccordingtoDr.SusanKraussWhitbourne,a
professorofPsychologyatUMassAmherst,stresscanweakenaperson'simmunesystem
makingithardertofightsickness.Shealsosaysstresscanmakeithardertoavoidinjury.
(Takingtimeoffmakessense,2014)Inaddition,stressedoutpeopleareoftenmoreanxiousand
irritable(Takingtimeoffmakessense,2014),whichcannegativelyaffecttheenvironmentofthe
workplace.
Whenweworknonstop,wearentgivingourbodiesachancetorechargeandthiscan
oftenleadtostress.Stress,however,canbereducedoralleviatedbytakingtimeoff(Takingtime
offmakessense,2014).Furthermore,JoeRobinson,aworklifebalanceconsultant,saystherisk

ofaheartattackcanbereducedby32%inmenand50%inwomenbytakingavacationoncea
year(Muhmel,2007).Becauseemployeesarethebasisofanycompany,strongerhealthier
employeeshelptomakeastrongerandhealthierorganization.Thesestudiesindicatethattaking
timeoffcouldbebenefittheindividualandthereforetheorganizationasawhole.
Asidefromhelpingtoreducestress,takingtimeoffcanincreasesproductivity(Bednar,
2014)andcanleadtomoreefficientandhardworkingemployees(Ramsey,2014).Moreover,it
canincreaseandmaintainjobsatisfaction(Tahmaseb,2007),aswellashelppeoplebecome
healthier,sharper,andmoreproductive(Muhmel,2007).Timeoffcanalsoencourageandaid
inspirationandmotivationtoproducethebestqualitywork,andcontributetoengaged,loyal,
andsatisfiedemployees(Bednar,2014).AccordingtoJenniferDeal,aresearcherattheCenter
forCreativeLeadership,takingtimeoffandbeingdisconnectedcanhelpincreaseaworker's
creativityandstrategic/longtermthinking.(Feintzeig,2014)
Withallthesepositiveeffectsoftakingtimeoff,onemightwonderwhypeopledont
takeadvantageofit.Whentryingtoidentifywhypeopledontusetheirvacationdays,afew
commonreasonswerediscovered.Money,lackoftime,andthefearofwhatotherswouldthink
wereamongthetopreasons.Alotofpeoplehavethebeliefthattheycantaffordtotakealong
vacation(Bednar,2014).Furthermore,itisbelievedtakingtimeoffbecomesdifficultforpeople
higherupinthecompany.Managerssaytheysometimesfeelmorestressedaftertakingtimeoff
becauseofwhatiswaitingforthem,likehundredsofmessages(Muhmel,2007).Someworkers
saytheyaretoobusyorinvestedintheirjobtotaketimeoff,andcantputprojectsonholdor
missimportantmeetings.Inaddition,workersoftenhavetroubletrustingthosebelowthemto
takecareofthings.(Feintzeig,2014)Thebeliefissomejobsaresimplytooimportanttoputon

pause.Peoplethatsharethisbeliefwouldcancelatripbeforetheycanceledameeting.
(Feintzeig,2014)
Likewise,Americansoftenadopttheconceptabadgeofhonorforthosewhowork
nonstop(Takingtimeoffmakessense,2014).Itwasfoundthatabout19%ofworkersfeelthey
mustattendifsickand17%feelitshardtotaketimeoffevenintheeventofanemergency
(Tahmaseb,2007).Areasonforthesestatisticsisthatpeoplefeartheywilllosetheirinfluencein
theworkplacebecauseitmayseemasiftheyarentcommittedtotheirworksimplybecausethey
tookavacation(Feintzeig,2014).AprilToddMalmlov,theheadofMinnesotas
healthinsuranceexchange,isanexampleofwhypeoplehavethisfear.ToddMalmlovresigned
aftergettingcriticismfortakingatwoweektriptocostarica(Feintzeig,2014).
Whiletherearemanyreasonspeopledontutilizevacationtime,therearepeoplewhodo.
However,manyemployeeswhodoexercisetheirrighttotimeoffstayconnectedtotheirjob
throughmultiplemediumsincludingemailorphonecalls(Muhmel,2007).Themostcommon
reasonforthisisbecausetheyfeelobligatedtobytheirbosses.Somebossesevenreportedthat
theyexpecttohavetheabilitytoaccessvacationingemployeesifnecessary(Muhmel,2007).
Ofthepeoplewhodotaketimeoff,therearesomewhotakeadayoffhereandthere
versustakingoffforasolidweek.This,however,maynotbethemostbeneficialwaytoutilize
vacationdays.JoeRobinson,aworklifebalanceconsultant,saysatleast2weeksisnecessaryto
properlyrecuperate.(Muhmel,2007)Onthecontrary,somepeoplemaybesavingalargechunk
oftheirvacationtimeforthefollowingyear.Thesepeoplewanttoaccumulatetimeoffinhopes
oftakingalongervacationinthefuture.(Muhmel,2007)

Vacationlawsvaryfromstatetostateandcompanytocompany.Somecompanies
combinevacationdays,sickdays,andpersonaldays,callingitpaidtimeofftoallowfor
flexibility.Howeversomedokeepthemseparated.Forexample,MassMutualkeepsthem
separatedallotting15daysofvacationtostart(5ofwhichcanrollovertothenextyear),5sick
days,and4personaldays.(Bednar,2014)
AlthoughthingsvaryinAmerica,onethingisconstant:alotofcompaniesdontmakeit
mandatorytotaketimeoff.(Bednar,2014).Infact,veryfewcompaniesallowemployeestotake
alloftheirvacationsdaysrightaway(Bednar,2014).Itisverycommonforworkerstohaveto
earntheirdaysoff(Tahmaseb,2007).Alotofcompaniesusetheaccrualformula,wherethe
employeeearnsvacationdaysaftereachmonthoreachpayperiod(Bednar,2014).Onaverage
wegetabout9daysoffafterayearofemployment(Tahmaseb,2007).Thisisbecauseinsome
states,likeMassachusettsforexample,employershavetopayouttheunusedvacationdaysifthe
employeeisterminated(Bednar,2014).Americaistheonlyindustrializedcountrythatdoesnt
makevacationdaysmandatory.Germany,Spain,Australia,Italy,andotherdevelopednations
haveatleast20mandatedvacationdaysayear.(Tahmaseb,2007)
InBritain,workershaveatleasta50hourworkweek,someexecutivesdontleave
before7pm,andeatinglunchattheirdeskswhileworkingiscommon.Becauseofthis,the
workersconsiderthemselvestobestressedandtheydontliketheworkconditions.(Lifestyle
andworkinghabitsworldwide,2013).Despitethis,52%ofthepopulationthinkstheyare
personallythriving,whileonly2%saytheyarestruggling.Andwhenitcomestoasenseof
wellbeingatwork,Britainsisamongthehighestoftheworld.Thiscouldbebecausetheydo
thingslikeendtheworkweekbygoingtothebarwiththeircolleagues(Lifestyleandworking

habitsworldwide,2013),andingeneral,haveamandatory4to5weeksofmandatoryannual
leave(Muhmel,2007).
Othercountrieshavesimilarvacationtimesituations.TheNetherlandshavelessthana
40hourworkweekandoftenworkoutsidetheoffice,allowingfortimeawayfromwork.The
Dutcharehighlysatisfiedwiththeirjob.(Lifestyleandworkinghabitsworldwide,2013)In
FrancetheyplacehighvalueontheircareermuchlikeAmerica,buttheyhaveamandated35
hourworkweekandhaveabout4weeksofvacationayear.EveninJapantheyget25daysof
vacationperyearforworkingmorethan11hoursaday.(Tahmaseb,2007)

Conclusions
Becausetakingtimeofffromworkhassomanybenefitsandtherearesomanypeople
whodontutilizetheirtimeoff,thereisalargeamountofAmericanswhoaremissingouton
thesebenefits.NotonlyareAmericansmissingoutonthingslikeincreasedproductivityorjob
satisfaction,buttheyarealsosufferingfromallthenegativeeffectsofnottakingoff.
Americans,however,tendtoconsiderthesebenefitsasnotthemostimportantthing.So
manypeopleputworkandthereforemoneyaheadofotherthingsthatcouldmakenotonlywork
butalsopersonallifemuchmoreenjoyable.Americanshaveanumberofreasonsastowhythey
dontwanttotaketimeoff,butcomparedtothebenefits,theirreasonsdontseemmore
important.Forexample,thepeoplewhowonttaketimeoffbecausetheydonthavethemoney
foravacationseemtohaveflawedreasoning.Togetthevariousbenefitsoftimeoff,itisnt
necessarytogoonbigfancyvacationthatcouldcostalotofmoney.Thesebenefitscancome

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fromsimplyrelaxinginthecomfortofone'sownhome.Forsuchlargebenefits,takingtimeoff
isactuallyaquitesimpleconcept.
Researchalsoshowedthattherearemanycountriesthathavemandatedvacationtime,a
conceptthatmightbealittlebafflingtoAmericansbecauseitisnotcommoninAmerica.
However,perhapsitshouldbebecauseothercountrieshavedemonstratedthebenefits.Britain
hasalongworkweek,butemployeesarestillsatisfiedandhavehighjobsatisfactionbecause
theyhavesomuchvacationtimeavailable.TheDutchareanothergoodexample.Theyworka
lotless(lessconcernedwithmoneyandmoretimetorelax)andtheirjobsatisfactionisquite
highaswell.Theyarelivingproofthatthereisacorrelationbetweentimeoffofworkandjob
satisfaction.Americans,itseems,couldlearnathingortwofromthesecountries.

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