BELLEVUE, WA—Expedia.com released its “2017 Vacation Deprivation” report, an annual study that looks at the vacation habits of more than 15,000 working adults across 30 countries, revealing that Americans are struggling to use their vacation time. Millennials are the most vacation deprived age group (62%) and receive the least vacation time. They are also the most likely to shorten their trips due to impending workload (53%) compared to their older counterparts.
It’s not just the millennials who are struggling to achieve work-life balance. Around half of workers in the U.S. report feeling somewhat or very vacation deprived, and in 2017 will fail to use approximately 462 million vacation days.
The primary reasons cited for not taking time off are budget (43%), the desire to save up vacation days for a longer holiday (30%), and not being able to get away from work (22%).
Across the board, Americans agree vacations are important for general health and wellbeing (94%) and help them feel more connected to their friends and family (91%). “This study confirms what we already know—that taking time off is a critical piece of living a happy, balanced life,” said Nisreene Atassi, global head of communications for Expedia.com.
While vacation deprivation levels worldwide are on the rise (53% up from 49% in 2016), Americans were among a handful of countries that saw reduced deprivation levels—down 4% from 2016. Another positive change is that the U.S. workforce is feeling less guilty for taking time off, down to only 8% from 14% in 2016. However, the number of vacation days received, used and lost remained consistent year over year, with Americans on average receiving 15 days of vacation and only taking 12. So, while perceptions and anxiety about taking vacation might be changing for the better, this shift has yet to translate into people using up more of their allotted vacation time.
As the world becomes more digitally connected, people are increasingly struggling to digitally disconnect while on vacation, with 24% of Americans checking in at least once a day this year, up from 20% in 2016. The report revealed this behavior leads to more stress for 39% of U.S. respondents, and is particularly damaging for younger workers who were the most likely to feel stressed as a result of checking work-related emails and messages (41%). Almost half of people around the world (48%) say they have had to cancel or postpone a vacation due to work. However, being connected isn’t all bad. Some 68% of people around the world use mobile devices to research and book activities while in destination, and more than half check in on social media (55%) or share photos and videos will family and friends (58%).
Geography and occupation influence vacation deprivation levels, with those in the marketing and media fields ranked as the most deprived globally (66%). The report revealed city-dwellers are more deprived than their suburban and rural neighbors, with Seoul, Korea (85%), Mumbai (76%) and Paris (70%) ranking as the top three most deprived urban areas globally; in the U.S., those living in the western part of the country were more vacation deprived (54%) than other regions; the most deprived industries for American workers are real estate (73%), food & beverage (60%) and health (56%).
