Americans Aren't Using All Their Vacation Days. Are You?

by  Anne Roderique-Jones | Nov 11, 2014
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Packing for a trip / seb_ra/iStock

According to a a recent study by Expedia.com, U.S. workers are given approximately 15 paid vacation days per year, and took only 14 -- leaving a day of paid vacation on the table. And while that seems incredibly unfortunate, it’s an uptick from the previous year when Americans used only 12 of the 14 available days.

The study, which is said to cover, “vacation habits among 7,855 employed adults across 24 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and South America”  concludes that Europeans, however, enjoy a vacation-filled lifestyle. Thirty days are offered to residents of Denmark, France, Germany, and Spain, and each country reports to have used every day available. United Kingdom residents take 25 of 26 days; Italians take 21 of 28 days; Austrians, Norwegians, and the Swedes take 25 of 25 days off; while the Dutch take 24 of 25 days, and the Irish take 21 of 22 of vacation time.

The most vacation-deprived country award goes to South Korea; its residents used only seven of their 15 available vacation days.

So why aren't we utilizing our all of our vacation time in the United States? The most common reason was that the "work schedule does not allow for it" (19%), followed by a desire to "bank them/carry over to next year" (18%), "lack of money" (18%), and "difficulty coordinating time" (16%).

Tell us: Do you use all of your allotted vacation time?

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