Why don't American workers dare to take a vacation? British media: Occupational pressures and cultural practices are intertwined

BBC Article, December 13, Original Title: Why Is It So Hard for American Employees to Apply for Leave? Paid time off has never been more important. But somehow, many people still have a hard time taking vacations. The amount of paid time off available varies around the world, but U.S. employees seem to be the least willing to take paid time off. Research shows that even if employees can take paid vacations as they like, they tend to take fewer vacations than employees with a fixed number of vacation days. The intricacies of occupational stress and cultural practices have left American employees confined to their desks, even if they really don't want to stay there.

A key factor in determining whether an employee is confident in taking paid time off is corporate culture. In a very competitive workplace, employees who take leave are afraid of being treated unfairly or losing future opportunities. A 2018 study showed that one of the top reasons U.S. employees don't take vacations is fear of being seen as replaceable. The American Travel Association found that 28 percent of people did not take time off in 2014, purely to appear dedicated to work and not to be seen as "slackers." Price, CEO of an HR consulting firm in Baltimore, said, "In American culture, we equate sabbatical with a resignation or low professionalism. The idea of not working is a shame. In 2019, a study of U.S. employees showed that more than one-third of respondents admitted that they had feigned illness for a day off, and 27 percent had "made up a story" instead of applying for leave in advance.

The pressure to perform well comes not only from moral expectations. In the U.S., the vast majority of employees believe that "great job performance" is the best way to get a raise. And that can easily lead to overwork, which American psychoanalyst Comey calls a "public health problem" in the United States. Studies have shown that being regular in the workplace and "passively meeting" with colleagues, regardless of commuting time, makes it easier to be seen as reliable and loyal. Price believes that this creates a situation where "you have to be busy, late at work, in the office building, and the boss can see you at work." In this case, it may not matter how much time the employee has in the contract. If the company does not promote a culture that encourages or requires employees to take time off, employees with unlimited vacation plans will sometimes have fewer days off than employees with fixed vacation plans.

Employees may also have to deal with deep-rooted work habits that are difficult to allow people to take off. Companies may be streamlined, and taking time off means coming back with a bunch of unfinished tasks or adding an extra burden to colleagues. Price said, "The stress, guilt or shame employees feel during their sabbaticals is real. So they usually endure and persevere to the end. "Being tied to a desk can even make some employees feel indispensable. "Employees fantasize that they are very important to the job and that if they are not in the company, they will disappoint their bosses," Comey said. No wonder, Comey said, in the U.S., vacations create anxiety. (By Joanna York, translated by De Liu)

Author: Joanna York, translated by De Liu

Source: Global Times