Americans leaving vacation time behind

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Employees increasingly are giving up their hard-earned vacation time to slog through another workday, and those in the laid-back Western United States, including Arizona, are the worst offenders.

That's according to several recent travel-industry surveys that illuminate the relationship between work and play.

Expedia, Orbitz and the Travel Industry Association of America report that people feel tethered to the office even when they get away, checking e-mail from the hotel lobby, taking phone calls between Mai Tais and strapping a BlackBerry to their bathing suits.

Americans will give up 574 million vacation days worth $75.72 billion this year, a 36 percent increase from 2005. Forty-one percent of those in the West tell Expedia they won't use all their vacation time, 8 percent more than the national average. And the average Westerner will lose seven days compared with four days nationally.

"We're pretty much a country that doesn't see vacation as something that is a given," said Carlton Yoshioka, an Arizona State University professor who studies leisure patterns in various cultures. "It gets back to that Puritan work ethic."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/090...cation0904.html

[frndly1 1]

I want their vacation time. I dont have a problem leaving my job behind. :-)

[Sister Fracas 5]

I'm leaving nuttin' behind...

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

Daniel

:energetic:

[Jonesie 1]

I would love to take their un-used vacation days

[jjjimmy 0]

ok always these long post i have to ask ,what do you do for a living steven?

[Elphie 0]

Jeez & here I thought getting 2 weeks a year wasn't enough.

[Mags 112]

I can't believe how little vacation time American's get to be honest. I currently work for the NHS in London and work a 37 hour week with 29 days vacation time a year.

And I STILL feel that isn't enough.....

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I lost 1 day last year. First time I ever did that.. I was devastated LOL. No not really. I didn't have any more money to go on any more vacations and I'd frankly rather "work" than stay home and do nothing.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

AS someone who went from having 45 days a year paid Vacation in the UK to only having 10 days paid here in the US.... I will take whatever others dont want...

Kezzie

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

ok always these long post i have to ask ,what do you do for a living steven?

Think that's a long post? Funny. You must be a very slow reader.

[Nizzy 1]

no wonder I run into cranky people all the time...

[Baileyj96 0]

With all the people loosing their jobs. Well I don't want my boss to realize he can get by without me. Sad but I think many people feel that way. I've been saving 1/2 of my vacations days to use when my fiance comes (if he gets to come) and now they are laying off hourly people and letting salary go with a package. The hourly would be called back when things picked up but the salary people are just let go and are not hired back.

I've been there 18 years and I still don't want to find out if I can survive with a package or If I could find a new job soon enough. Now I'm just scared to take any vacation.

Baileyj

[ladybutterfly 0]

The whole vacation thing in the USA sucks BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!! Coming from Europe where you get like 25 days a year to 10 days a year if you are lucky, and thats usually after you have worked with the company for a year is so so wrong! Life is for living, not just for working!

[Marc and Olga 0]

My work gives "paid time off" which is vacation/sick time. Currently I have about 100 hours and I have been sick recently so I have used some of it.

Usually around November we get the option of selling it back, last year I sold about 150 hours which made for a nice "extra" paycheck! Which I set aside for my trip to Russia. I was planning on doing the same this year but hopefully Olga will be here before I could afford to return to Russia!

Also with my job there is an option to leave early, I have exercised that option far more often then I should have. This is partly why I do not have much "PTO". The rest was used (2 weeks) in March for my trip!

I will be taking time off to meet Olga in LA, whenever I can afford her trip here! (no options to leave early for me until I can afford that! This means MORE PTO as we earn it based on hours worked!)