768 million vacation days went unused by American workers in 2018, up nine percent from the previous year, according to U.S. Travel President and CEO Roger Dow.
“The worst part is 236 million of those are gone forever,” said Dow. “That’s like getting four days of pay in January and then having your boss ask for it back in December.”
Why aren’t people using their vacation time?
“One would think it’s money but that doesn’t even show up,” said Dow. “The first reason is people say ‘I’ve gotta work twice as hard the week before and three times as hard the week I get back.”
There’s another reason for the unused days that Dow says is going down but is still prevalent. People are afraid they’ll lose their job.
“If I step away, people might think they don’t need me,” said Dow. “So I’m gonna hang in here and make sure they see my face everyday.”
Dow will join WTMJ’s John Mercure on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News Tuesday to detail some of the other reasons Americans aren’t using their paid time off. You can listen live here.
