Can you imagine having a full slate of vacation days, but only using half of them? That’s exactly what one-third of Gen-Zers are doing. Priceline released a new survey yesterday that found out that 55% of Americans, not just Gen-Z, are leaving as many as 10 vacation days on the table. The reason why is quite interesting.
According to the survey, many workers feel guilty about taking their vacation time. 24% of Gen Zers surveyed said they felt guilt. This is compared to only 8% of Baby Boomers and 16% of Gen Xers. 19% of millennials feel the same. The guilt is a driving factor, but they also are concerned about how their employers views them. They feel as if taking their full vacation time allotted to them will ruin their reputation.
That means a lot of people who even take vacations aren’t fully unplugging. They are staying connected. Half of Gen-Zers feel the need to check work emails or keep up on their voicemails while away from work. Again, the percentages drop as you go through the generations. 16% of Gen-Zers check their work email every few hours. How do they get a chance to unwind and relax?
Any Regret for Not Taking More Vacation Days?
So, the big question that needs to be asked next is whether Gen-Z regrets not taking vacations. 30% of them said they wished they did something more spontaneous, like took a quick trip when they had the opportunity. Most of the regret they felt was taking vacation time for others. That means they might’ve taken a day off to go to a friend’s wedding.
A lot of this guilt might have more to do with the employers. They make it seem as if taking a few days off would hurt the worker. Their reputation with the boss would definitely suffer. While they offer these weeks of vacation to draw in workers, they don’t want you to take them. If you felt taking a needed vacation works against you, you might feel guilty doing it.
