July 17, 2007 by Domenic Thomas, M.S.O.M., L.Ac.
There has been a slew of recent articles discussing American workers and their reluctance to use their vacation time. Not only do Americans generally receive far fewer vacation days each year than their European counterparts, but we often don’t use all of our days.
A recent web article by ABC news states, "...the average employee in the United States receives 14 days of time off…" The article continues by showing a comparison to European countries. I’ll save you the heartache as they get WAY more time off than we do.
The sad part is, we often don’t use our entire allotted time, actually, most Americans won’t use approximately four of their hard earned vacation days. There are many reasons given for this behavior, but I didn’t see a justifiable reason in the bunch. My favorite was the idea that people don’t want to go on vacation because it’s too stressful.
If this is reality for the average American, we have taken the term "stressed out" to an entirely new level. If you think you might fit into the "too stressed out to go on vacation" group, I’d advise you to re-think your career path.
I’m not sure anyone can expect to lead a healthy and fulfilling life if they can’t take some time to go away and enjoy themselves. I don’t think too many people will agree that we are here on earth to work first and enjoy life second.
When older people reflect on their lives I guarantee the overwhelming majority don’t wish they had worked more hours at the office. Money is an essential part of life, but is one ingredient in our overall happiness and well-being. You might actually make a better impression at work by being bold enough to take ALL of your vacation days this year.
