Travel Tips

Travel Tip: Why You Should Use Your Vacation Days

Image Credit: Stephanie Ervin

Image Credit: Stephanie Ervin

Image Credit: Stephanie Ervin

Let’s face it.

Americans, almost more than any other society, are historically bad at taking their vacation days.

About 73 percent of all American workers get paid vacations.

But less than half of us took all of our allotted vacation days last year.

Only 22 percent of us used all of our allocated sick days.

What’s the result? We forfeited 222 million vacation days last year.

To make things worse, only a few employers allow you to roll over unused days to the next year.

Who loses? You know the answer—you do.

You won’t get reimbursed for the unused vacation time, and then there’s a compounded problem.

The more days you accrue, the less likely you are to use them in larger blocks, so they just sit there.

Unlike other investments, those days don’t increase in value over time.

So, just a little warning as we enter the second quarter of the year, please look at your calendar. Then look at a map.

You deserve—in fact, you’re entitled to—some time off.

I’m giving you permission. So take that vacation time.

It only has real value when you actually use it.

For more information about the benefits of going on vacation, check out:

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