Americans Don’t Take Enough Vacation. Remote Work Could Be Changing That.

The rise of remote and hybrid work has done much to benefit the workforce, giving a boost to our work-life balance, productivity and general well-being. Apparently, it’s also made us more likely to take that hard-earned vacation we’ve been putting off.

A new survey from the Harris Poll, commissioned by the human capital management technology company Ceridian, found that among Americans who work remotely at least some of the time, an overwhelming majority (84%) said the ability to work remotely makes it easier to take time off. That is significant, as virtually all respondents (95%) agreed that doing so is highly beneficial, from improving their mental wellness (69%) and physical health (49%) to promoting productivity (48%).

But even when they do take time away from work, fewer than half (41%) say they disconnect completely when on vacation, which may further exacerbate feelings of burnout.

Whether it’s checking email and taking work calls from the beach or forfeiting much of the paid time off they’ve earned altogether, Americans are notorious for not truly unplugging — unlike, say, Europeans, who famously tend to close up shop for weeks at a time every summer. In fact, the U.S. is the only country in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that does not mandate paid vacation.

In a recent Pew Research Center survey of nearly 5,200 workers in the U.S., nearly half said they tend to take less time off than their employer offers.

Why? Most say either that they don’t feel they need to take more days off or are worried they might fall behind if they do. Meanwhile, more than 4 in 10 said they forego vacation because they feel badly about their co-workers getting saddled with additional responsibilities. A lesser number are afraid they’ll hurt their chances for advancement (19%) or lose their jobs (16%).

Predictably, our opportunity to take time off work has a lot to do with our place in the labor food chain, with lower-wage workers less likely to get paid time off, as Bankrate reported.

With no federal mandate requiring employers to offer PTO and companies striving to maximize productivity, we probably shouldn’t expect that to change anytime soon.