Heard this morning on KTRH 740 AM radio:
Making vacation plans for 2015 or are you planning on not take vacation time in 2015?
42% of Americans didn’t take any vacation time last year, typical for any year. Skift, a travel intelligence site, asked 1500 people about their vacation activities and finds that even though most are allotted ten days each year only 13% say they can afford to take that much time off.
Kristen McGullion is VP of HR Services with Achilles Group in Houston, a Human Resources consulting firm, and tells KTRH News not taking vacation time is like leaving money on the table.
“Companies are giving it to you as a benefit anyway. If you think about it from the perspective of your total compensation, time off is part of that total compensation. You should take it,” McGullion says.
The other ends of the spectrum are the 15% of Americans who took more than 20 vacation days last year.
Sheryl Lyons, a Business Cultural Development Specialist, says responsibility for vacation time taken comes from the top.
“I would recommend that companies avoid creating vacation policies that allow for people to be paid out vacation time at the end of the year, or for them to be able to transfer their vacation to other employees,” Lyons says.
It’s self-defeating, she says. The purpose of providing the benefit is to give employees time for rest, relaxation and time to recover. It benefits businesses and employees both.
The survey also found that women tend to take fewer vacation days than men.
