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American workers not taking vacations

May 23, 2017

While American workers are stressed, they're not taking time away from work, according to a survey released today by CareerBuilder.

Three in five workers, 61%, said they are burned out in their current job, and 31% report high or extremely high levels of stress at work. However, a third of all workers have not taken or do not plan to take a vacation this year.

Nearly a third of workers say work causes high or extremely high stress levels for them — an issue that is affecting women more than men at 34% and 27%, respectively.

Stress is also affecting areas such as job satisfaction. A third of workers with high levels of stress said they are dissatisfied with their job; 17% say they are dissatisfied with their job overall.

Survey results include:

  • 33% of workers said they won't be taking a vacation this year, down slightly from 35% last year
  • Three in 10 workers still stay connected with work during vacation
  • Nearly one in five have left vacation days unused in 2016
  • People in power positions – i.e., senior management and VPs – are the least stressed of all workers
  • Women were more likely to report high stress levels at work than men
  • Anger issues at work, depression and sleepless nights are among stress-related symptoms workers say they have experienced

“If you're a boss, it's important that you role model how to take a vacation,” said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. “If you're prone to answering every email and phone call that comes through on your own vacation time, consider the example you're setting for your team members.”

The survey was conducted online within the US by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 3,215 employees — employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government — between Feb. 16 and March 9, 2017.