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Americans don’t know how to take vacations.
About 62% of workers let’s say having According to a 2023 Pew Research Center report, a job with paid time off—for vacation or illness—is “extremely important” to them, even more so than benefits such as health insurance, a 401(k) plan or paid parental leave. . However, according to Pew, 46% do not use all their free time.
“If you never take a vacation or have free time, you’re not respecting how humans were created and what we need to stay energized,” said Elizabeth Grace Saunders, a time management coach. “We are biological people. We are not machines,” she added.
The number of vacation days that employees typically receive depends on many factors, such as length of service with the company, income, and industry.
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For example, on average private sector employers We offer 11 days of vacation after a year of service; 15 days in five years; 18 days in 10 years; and 20 days in 20 years, according to 2023 data from US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
However, 32% of employees say their unused vacation days don’t roll over the following year, and 28% are not paid for unused days, according to a 2022 Qualtrics survey.
The USA is the only developed country that does not require workers receive paid leave, according to a 2019 report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
About 21% of Americans work in the private sector I don’t understand paid leave, and 20% do not receive paid leave, according to the BLS.
Those who work in the service sector, earn lower wages, work part-time or are not unionized, or work for smaller companies are much less likely to receive them, according to the agency.
Here’s how you can maximize your vacation time, whether paid or unpaid—both in terms of efficiency and overall quality, according to experts.
“Play a little Tetris”
According to experts, grouping vacation days with other guaranteed days off helps extend your time without sacrificing additional vacation time.
In other words: take advantage of weekends and paid holidays.
For example, July 4th falls on Thursday this year. If you cancel for just one day (Friday, July 5), you’ll have a four-day weekend.
“Play Tetris” with your calendar, Saunders said.
However, this approach often requires compromise.
For example, holiday travel or flights on weekends like Friday and Sunday tend to be busier and more expensive, says Sally French, travel expert at NerdWallet.
Use business travel and remote work
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According to French, workers will be able to combine business trips with vacations.
If your company sends you to a conference in another state for part of the work week, you can take time off to spend an extra day in your destination city, French explained.
Combined with the days off, workers may not even need to use paid time off, she said. The company can also cover some of the costs, such as airfare, she added.
Additionally, those who work remotely or in the office only part-time can take advantage of these mechanisms to leave without having to take leave, French said. (There is even a practice, especially among younger workers, known as “quiet leave,” where workers compensate for PTO shortages by secretly taking time off.)
Hotels have capitalized on the trend during the Covid-19 pandemic, offering guests free amenities such as video call rooms and co-working spaces, she said.
“This trend hasn’t really gone away even in 2024,” she said.
Workers with this flexibility can also more easily take advantage of cheaper travel times, such as midweek flights, she added.
The power take-off speed must be “measured”
According to Saunders, spacing out vacation days throughout the year helps prevent burnout.
She recommends taking at least one day off every month—or at least every couple of months—even if it’s just relaxation.
She says people who don’t take time off until they “feel really burnt out” get to the point where they don’t like the job and need two or three days off to feel “normal” again. .
Workers who don’t have many days off (say, just 10) might consider taking one longer trip that requires four or five days of vacation and combining the remaining days with paid vacation, Saunders said.
Enhance that feeling of “newness”
Saunders says people can feel more “rejuvenated” by PTO if they strategically take days off during different busy times at work.
Taking a day off during busy periods feels more “refreshing” than, for example, when things are quieter, she said.
Of course, people may not be able to leave during a crisis or may not have people to delegate work to while they are away; For such people, taking a break during periods of cold may be more beneficial to avoid work stress during the holidays.
Likewise, it can be helpful to give yourself an extra day before returning to work—say, returning on Saturday instead of Sunday—to do things like laundry, French says.
This buffer can provide additional peace of mind, she said.
Give yourself the “acceptable minimum”
Many people may avoid vacations due to feelings of guilt.
For example, according to the Pew Research Center, 43% of Americans don’t use all of their PTO because they treat co-workers poorly who take on extra work.
Additionally, some studies have shown that workers who receive “unlimited” time off from work tend to take less time off compared to those who have a limit.
Workers who find it difficult to take time off should set a personal “sustainable minimum” — for example, ensuring you take at least 15 days off each year, Saunders said.
And try to completely disconnect from the network during your vacation, experts advise.
Post an out-of-office message, turn off email notifications, and don’t answer work calls; “If you absolutely must, try to limit work to just one hour a day,” Saunders said.