Survey Says: 41 Percent of Americans Didn't Take a Vacation in 2014

Vacations are good for us, according to studies. It’s time away from the office to unwind and clear away the stress. Workers come back refreshed and with a clean slate, ready to tackle the next project. But Zainab Mudallal from Quartz reported on some disturbing statistics released by a travel website that shows Americans aren’t taking advantage of their days off.

Skift conducted a series of surveys measuring how often Americans traveled last year. The company found close to half of consumers indicated that they didn’t take a day off during the summer and 63 percent didn’t travel at all between September 2013 to September 2014. But what’s the most depressing is that for the entirety of 2014, 41 percent of 1,500 people surveyed said they didn’t take a single vacation day.

What’s more, Skift found that lower-income workers made up the majority of those who didn’t take any vacation days. While the higher up the income bracket you go, the more likely people are to take those holidays. But what could be holding so many people back from taking time off?

The reality is that lower-income workers may be working two jobs just to pay the bills, so a holiday is out of the question. However, Mudallal suggests that a study by the US Travel Association found that fear is a big motivator. Four out of 10 Americans thought they would be replaced while they were away or that they’d be greeted by more work upon their return. At the risk of damaging the mental health of the American workforce, companies would do well to implement a more positive attitude toward taking days off, or else productivity may suffer.