The Case for Vacation by the Numbers

Passengers queue at LAX airport before Memorial Day weekend, May 27, 2021. [Reuters/Lucy Nicholson]

By Raina Lipsitz

Despite mounting evidence that taking vacations makes people happier, healthier and better at their jobs, many Americans remain chained to their worksites.

The United States is the only country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that does not require employers to provide workers with annual paid leave — so many employers don’t. Twenty-three percent of Americans have no paid vacation days at all. Even workers who do have paid time off don’t use it. Americans failed to use 768 million days of paid time off in 2018, and over half (55 percent) did not use all of the paid leave to which they were entitled.

But American workers don’t hate fun; they lack power.

In 2018, 61 percent didn’t take vacation for “fear of looking replaceable.” Sixty-two percent of Americans worry that their boss will judge them for requesting time off for mental health care. “Many are afraid they’ll be perceived as a slacker, get passed over for job promotions or that someone might be angling for their job,” writes psychotherapist Bryan E. Robinson.

These are rational fears. Most U.S. companies have “at-will” employment, which means most workers can be fired for almost any reason or no reason at all. As Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. of the Society for Human Resource Management explained in response to a recent query, “Yes, your employer could fire you for using all of your vacation days, … there are no federal or state laws mandating employers even offer paid vacation leave, so company policies and internal practices are the rules of the land."

Even white-collar workers who can theoretically afford a vacation spend too much time at work. A 2015 survey of office workers revealed that 87% put in more than 40 hours of work per week, and nearly a quarter put in more than 50. Workers feel pressure to justify their salaries, demonstrate their commitment to an employer and conform to a company’s culture. Some have come to see overwork as a kind of circular badge of honor: I work all the time because my job is important, and my job is important because I work all the time. A 2018 survey revealed that 56 percent of Americans didn’t take a vacation because they felt their workload was “too heavy.” As New Yorker columnist James Surowiecki wrote in 2014, “Overwork has become a credential of prosperity.” In 2017, two in three Americans (66 percent) reported working while on vacation.

The pandemic actually made overwork worse. In large cities throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East, those who could work from home during the crisis put in nearly one more hour per day on average in 2020, according to a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Yet the average American took only 4.5 days of vacation between March and July 2020.

Working longer hours and taking less time off is detrimental to human health and happiness. Americans spend between a quarter and a half of their waking lives at work, which can strain relationships, as well as cause stress and anxiety and make it harder to exercise and eat well, all of which can lead to weight gain and interfere with sleep. A 2015 study found that people who worked more than 55 hours per week were 33% more likely to have a stroke than those with a standard workweek.

To boost health and happiness, a number of countries are considering shortening the workweek. It’s already customary for many Europeans to take July or August off. Imagine what we could do with more time: the loved ones we could see and care for, the places we could visit, the oceans we could swim in, the trails we could hike, the meals we could share around a grill, campfire or kitchen table. American media outlets tend to emphasize the business case for taking time off; it prevents burnout and makes workers more focused and productive, but it’s the human case that matters. We deserve pleasure, leisure, adventure and novelty, not just mere survival. And our most intimate relationships, with ourselves and each other, require time to deepen and grow.

“We all need time off to recharge, but we’re not taking enough of it,” said Ashley Whillans, author of Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life. Whillans achieved this epiphany through painful experience: she started writing her book one solitary Christmas after missing her cousin’s funeral for a work trip. Our lives and time are our own; it’s time to reclaim them.

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