Did you take all your paid vacation time last year? If not, you’re among the more than half of U.S. workers who chose to stay at their desks or behind counters instead of relaxing with friends and family, basking on a Hawai‘i beach or walking Boston’s Freedom Trail.
That is not a good thing. Americans’ reluctance to take time off has enormous consequences for their health, their families, and the U.S. economy. In 2017, 52 percent of American workers left vacation time unused, according to the U.S. Travel Association’s Project: Time Off. Those 705 million unused vacation days last year translate into a $255 billion lost opportunity to the U.S. economy. Had workers used that time to vacation within the United States, the activity could have generated 1.9 million jobs. Whether you travel near or far, though, here are five reasons to take your vacation—and to encourage your employees to take theirs.