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“Throughout the pandemic, we saw a surge of people leaving their jobs because of burnout and stress,” said Christy Pruitt-Haynes, global head of talent and performance at NeuroLeadership Institute, a workplace consultant. “We have also seen a steady decline in employee engagement.” In other words, she said, “Vacation time is more important than ever.
“U.S. employees have been conditioned to believe if you aren’t at work, you are lazy or at risk of being replaced,” she said. “We also have been taught that to get more you have to work more, and since we all want more, we tend to prioritize active work over other things in our life.” About 80% of all private-sector employees in the U.S. get paid vacation, according to government data. In the Pew survey, which included more than 5,900 U.S. workers, more people said paid time off was “extremely” important to them than those who said the same about employer-sponsored health insurance, retirement programs, or paid family or medical leave.