In a study conducted by the team for us.jetcost.com, it was discovered just how many Americans take advantage of their time off to go on vacation.
Over 4,000 Americans over the age of 18 were surveyed for the study. All participants were employed full-time at the time of the survey and were questioned on how they use their vacation time.
In response to the team's findings, a spokesperson for the site said that "We spend most of our lives at work and it can be a very challenging environment, so taking time off now and again is crucial. You don't necessarily have to go on vacation away from home or out of the country, but you should certainly avoid doing any form of work whilst not there."
The team found that just two-fifths of Americans use their time off work to go on vacation, 51% of Americans did not use up their allotted vacation last year and 16% of Americans take time off work to do more work.
In addition to the 51% of participants who did not use up their allotted vacation time last year, only 47% believe they will use up all of their days this year.
When contributors were questioned why they would not use all of their vacation days, 31% said 'I had too much work to complete,' 26% said 'I had nothing to do with the time off' and 19% said 'I wanted the day back as pay.'
Despite how few Americans take advantage of their vacation days, the study found that 68% of Americans believe they should be legally entitled to more paid vacation.
When asked what the use their vacation time for, only 41% of respondents admitted to using their days off to go on vacation and only 19% of them travel abroad. In addition, 20% use take time off to run errands, and 11% take time off for medical reasons. One of the most astounding findings was that 16% of Americans admit to taking time off of work in order to catch up with work.
Only 6% of participants have used sick days to go on vacation, though 21% have called in sick for other reasons.
Interestingly, 31% of contributors claimed to have searched for destinations, flights and hotels and resorts, but only 10% of them have actually booked them. The rest admitted that their browsing was simply a result of wishful thinking.
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