Introduction of Budget and Employee Vacations: Is there a relationship?

        The ubiquitous workaholic mentality deeply woven into the fabric of American culture has become a trademark of the U.S. workforce (Wilding, 2018). Such an observation isn’t necessarily surprising, given how often parents, educators and mentors perpetuate the notion of hard work as the fundamental linchpin for success. However, the steadfast obsession with a career-driven mindset has allowed an interesting dichotomy to emerge during the last decade.

        Specifically, American workers accumulate paid time off (PTO) as a key employee benefit yet 52% of U.S. employees let unused vacation days go to waste at the end of 2017 according to a recent survey conducted by Project Time Off (Project Time Off, 2018). Evidence links vacation time to reduced stress and improved job performance (de Bloom, J., Geurts, S.A.E. & Kompier, 2013) but whether such studies have truly resonated with the target audience is unclear especially since statistics of this nature underscore the frequency with which the U.S. workforce curiously elects to bypass vacations despite having available time off (Time, 2017). This incongruity justifies deeper analysis and creates the basis for the forthcoming research.

Historical Perspective

        From 1976 to 2000, the average American utilized 20.3 days of vacation time . Interestingly, the year 2000 marked an inflection point when the use of vacation time began to plummet, culminating in just 14 vacation days taken by 2014. Note that by 2016, the amount of PTO earned by U.S. employees rose by nearly one full day (Project Time Off, 2018) and by 2017, U.S. employers began experimenting with unlimited PTO and embraced PTO bundles whereby sick days were combined with vacation time in one bank (Miller, 2016). Taken together, this paradigm shift may have diluted the value of time off but the overall trend was established. The American vacation was on the brink of becoming an endangered species and the impact was profound.

Ambiguity Abounds

            Conventional wisdom suggests that Americans have refrained from taking time off for a multitude of reasons. For example, does the pervasive workaholic U.S. culture frown upon time away from the office? Alternatively, what impact do income, family status and time off policies have on one’s willingness to unplug? Are there geographical differences of socioeconomic forces involved?

        Perhaps U.S. workers have other financial priorities and simply prefer to allocate excess savings towards mortgages, loan repayments or large purchases like automobiles. In contrast, the costs of airfare and lodging plus congested roadways may dampen the spirits of potential travelers who may also lack the time or patience to scout potential destinations. For new parents or families with young children, a lack of age-appropriate and budget friendly locales may limit one’s options.

        As of October 2018, the U.S. unemployment rate of 3.7% hasn’t been this low since December 1969 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). Coincidentally, the booming job market suggests an abundance of U.S. workers who posses steady wages and earn time off. If a better understanding surrounding the extent to which the aforementioned factors influence the willingness of Americans to take vacations can be obtained, resulting findings can be leveraged to improve both the work-life balance and engagement of employees.