Vacation Time No Day at the Beach for Many Americans

Seventy percent of workers have used vacation days for non-leisure activities

According to a recent survey conducted by the town of Ocean City, Md.,¹ Americans are using their vacation days (paid time off) for activities that are a far cry from a day at the beach. The national survey of 1,500 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who have received paid time off from their employer, revealed respondents have used paid time off on at least one of the following activities:

• Medical appointments for themselves or their family (45%)
• Running errands, such as shopping, visiting the post office or bank (38%)
• Home repairs/home improvement (34%)
• Moving (29%)
• Waiting for a service representative, such as a plumber (28%)
• Gardening (16%)
• Visiting the department of motor vehicles (15%)

The survey also revealed that 43% of respondents have rolled over vacation days to the following year, 16% have lost vacation days at the end of the year because they didn’t get a chance to use them, and only 44% have always taken all their vacation days.

¹ Ocean City will be highlighting this national trend of less leisurely vacation days in its new advertising and social media campaign encouraging people to use their paid time off for a real vacation.