Millennials: Most Likely to Experience Vacation Shame

Americans have one of the shortest paid vacation allowances in the world, and even though only two weeks are offered per year to start, most workers feel afraid to even ask for time off, worried their brief absence would put their careers and workplace reputations in jeopardy.

According to a survey conducted by Allianz Global Assistance USA — a travel insurance company — the group of professionals that feel the most guilt about taking earned vacation days is millennials. These feelings of doubt and guilt may contribute to the 42 percent of Americans who don’t even take the paid vacation days their jobs allow. Of this group, Allianz found 48 percent of respondents are millennials, or working professionals between the ages of 18 and 34 years.

The survey results also revealed the reasons behind not taking these vacation days, such as not wanting to upset superiors and colleagues. On the contrary, workers from Generation X are more likely to take their vacation days and deem them as more important to work-life balance, but still report slight feelings of guilt in asking for days off.

In the endless rat race young people feel they need to join in order to get ahead at their jobs, the importance of taking time off does not seem like a priority for millennials, but Americans could take cues from other countries that vacation days exist for a reason, and taking time to disconnect can be beneficial for work lives.