There’s no doubt going on vacation can do wonders for workers, but as we’ve reported many times most American don’t use all of their vacation days. There are a variety of reasons people skip taking time off, and it turns out guilt is one of the biggest reasons of them all.
According to the 2017 Alamo Rent A Car Family Vacation Survey, 49% of all workers say they're vacation shamed when they want to take vacation, meaning co-workers make them feel shame or guilty for taking time off. That number is actually up two percent from last year’s survey. What’s more, while you may think all the guilt is in a workers head, 53% of employees believe their colleagues are being serious when they are vacation shamed.
The survey finds that on the whole, only 47% of people use all their vacation days, and only 18% of workers use all of their days for actual vacation, with many using them for things like staying at home or running errands. Of those who don’t use all their vacation, 57% say they feel guilty when they go away since their co-workers have to cover for them, while 48% feel they have to justify the reason for taking their time off.
And even when they are on vacation, most folks aren’t truly checked out of the office. The survey finds that 65% of working families admit they put pressure on themselves to do some work while on vacation, with 48% saying they do it because they don’t want to come back to a pile of work. In addition, 23% of workers say they are expected to check in while away, while 53% prefer to completely unplug while on a family trip.