A significant portion of employees, though, still had unused paid time off last year
American workers took an average of 17.2 vacation days in 2017 — nearly a half-day more than in 2016, according to new research.
After reaching a low of 16 days in 2014, the amount of vacation time employees used rose to its uppermost point last year since 2010, when the average amount of paid time off employees took totaled 17.5 days.
The research indicates more employers may be encouraging employees to use their vacation time; 38 percent said their company culture encouraged it, compared to 33 percent in 2016.
More than half of American workers, though, still aren’t using all their paid time off.
Employees who were concerned taking a vacation would make them appear less dedicated or even replaceable were more likely than other workers to have unused vacation days.
Employees who felt their workload was too heavy to be out of the office and ones who didn’t think anyone could cover their job responsibilities were also more likely to have unused vacation days.