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Vacation time? Most Americans don’t take any, and work when they do – Metro US

Vacation time? Most Americans don’t take any, and work when they do

office karate job The U.S. is far from being a relaxation nation, one study finds. Credit: Thinkstock

Conscientious Americans are leaving almost half of their paid vacation allowance unused, and two in three say they work while on vacation, according to a new report.

A survey of more than 2,000 workers by the careers website Glassdoorpublished this week revealed that the average American employee has taken just 51 percent of his or her paid time off last year.

Eighty-five percent of workers reported taking paid holiday allowance over the last 12 months, but 15 percent of employees haven’t taken a break for a year. Two in five workers used up 25 percent or less of their vacation time.

Meanwhile, even while away, workers are finding it increasingly difficult to completely switch off and ignore business-related calls and emails, with 61 percent of participants admitting to working on vacation. One in five employees reported being contacted by the boss while on paid leave.

“It’s clear the word ‘vacation’ among employers and employees doesn’t mean what it did in the past,” said Glassdoor’s Rusty Rueff. “Before technology allowed us to be connected 24/7, we were more likely to have actually ‘vacated’ our work for a couple of weeks a year, but now it appears one full day away is a luxury.”