A study released on Thursday says that Americans are only taking half of their eligible paid vacations and other time off.
A survey of 2,300 workers who receive paid vacation shows that employees use 51 percent of their paid time off, according to MarketWatch.
Research firm Harris Interactive held the survey for Glassdoor, a careers website. They found that 61 percent of Americans work while on vacation, 25 percent say they've been contacted by a colleague about issues related to work on their time off, and 20 percent say they've been contacted by their boss.
The study found that fear of expectations may also play a role in Americans taking less time off, ThinkProgress reported. A total of 19 percent say they work while on vacation because they feel like they can't be disconnected from the office,17 percent are afraid they won't meet their goals if they don't do work on time off, and the same percent are afraid that they'll lose their job. Another 6 percent say they work on time off because of fear they have for their bosses.
The results not only show that Americans are working too hard, but they also show a negative impact working on time off is having on companies the economy. Productivity can be increased by employees taking time off.
The London firm Ernest & Young found that its employees' year-end performance ratings increased by 8 percent for every 10 hours of vacation time they took. Former NASA scientists discovered that people who take time off experience an 82 percent increase in job performance when they come back, and longer vacations had a more positive effect, ThinkProgress reported.
Most companies in the U.S. have an "employment-at-will" doctrine, which means employees can be fired for any or no reason. Employees can avoid being fired if they have a written contract, if they're part of a labor union that has other rules for employment or if they're fired due to some form of discrimination, MarketWatch reported.
Piera Palazzolo, senior vice president for marketing at Dale Carnegie Training, said a lack of disconnection for employees from work is bad for them as well as their bosses.
"Taking vacation is important for creativity and energy levels," Palazzolo said. "They may be going through the motions at work, but not taking time off can lead to burnout."
