Vacation: All They Ever Wanted

If your organization is in the midst of planning its annual holiday party (and possibly stressing over what could happen during said party in this post-Harvey Weinstein era), then know this: Most employees would actually prefer more time off in lieu of a holiday celebration.

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That’s according to a new survey from Randstad US, which finds that 90 percent of employees would choose extra vacation days (or a bonus) over a workplace holiday party.

Time off is a fraught subject here in the U.S., one of the few industrialized countries to not mandate some form of paid leave for employees. As we’ve previously noted, American workers take significantly less paid time off during the year than their European counterparts, much to the consternation of health and wellness experts who warn that too little time off can lead to burnout, stress and other health issues further down the line.

So just how much time off are Americans getting these days? The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans‘ just-released 2017 survey finds that, on average, salaried employees in the U.S. with paid-time-off plans receive 17 days after one year of service, 22 days after five years, 25 days after 10 years of service and 28 days after 20 years (this includes vacation, sick days, etc.). In terms of paid vacation days, salaried U.S. employees receive on average 12 days after one year of service, 16 days after five years, 19 days after 10 years and 23 days of vacation after 20 years of service.

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Most employers let workers carry over their paid leave time from one year to the next, with 83 percent of employers allowing them to carry over some or all unused days in a PTO bank, while 74 percent allow hourly workers to carry over vacation days and 77 percent allow their salaried employees to do so. Approximately one in seven organizations let workers sell their vacation time back to the company for cash.

As for the upcoming holiday season, just about all (99 percent) of organizations that offer paid holiday time offer Thanksgiving Day as a paid holiday and 75 percent include the Friday after Thanksgiving as well. Just under half (45 percent) offer Christmas Eve off as a paid holiday, but practically all (99 percent) offer Christmas Day off as well as New Year’s Day. And for some lucky employees, 13 percent of organizations shut down their operations and offer a full paid week of holiday leave between Christmas and New Year’s.

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Andrew R. McIlvaine
Andrew R. McIlvaine is former senior editor with Human Resource Executive®.