--- title: Why Most Americans Aren't Using All of Their Vacation Days description: Most Americans aren't using all of their vacation days — and even when they do, they are working while on their trips authors: - name: Jennifer Calfas url: https://money.com/author/jennifer-calfas/ at_money_since: 2017 articles: 339 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Personal Finance - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/jencalfas former_staff: true published: '2017-05-29T14:42:21.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T05:57:31.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - onetime - vacation word_count: 267 canonical: https://money.com/americans-vacation-days/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![USA, California, Laguna Beach, Family with three children (6-7, 10-11, 14-15) running on beach](https://img.money.com/2017/05/vacation-days.jpg) Most Americans would rather forgo an [extra few days of vacation](https://money.com/vacation-time-cash-exchange/) to return to the office. In fact, the majority of Americans do not use all of their allotted [vacation days](https://money.com/best-in-travel-international-vacation-value/), according to several recent studies. In 2016, 54% of U.S. employees didn't use all of their days off — working a total of 662 million more days than they were required to, according to a [report from the U.S. Travel Association's Project: Time Off](http://www.projecttimeoff.com/sites/default/files/StateofAmericanVacation2017.pdf). And working those extra days doesn't mean they'll earn extra cash. Of the days off, 206 million were forfeited, totaling $66.4 billion. Those unused vacation days resulted in a $236-billion loss in spending in the U.S. economy, according to the report. A different Glassdoor report found that 54% of American employees who receive vacation days only end up using half of them. So why would Americans forgo their time off? They worry they will fall behind — or worse, get fired. "Fear," Scott Dobroski, career trends analyst at Glassdoor [told *MarketWatch*](http://www.marketwatch.com/story/55-of-american-workers-dont-take-all-their-paid-vacation-2016-06-15). "That's the underscoring theme." Additionally, Glassdoor [found](https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/vacation-realities-2017/) that even when Americans do take all their vacation days, two-thirds of them work while away. But that's not a good way to spend a vacation, according to Glassdoor analysts, who found that working while on a trip does more harm than good. “While taking a vacation may make employees temporarily feel behind, they should realize that stepping away from work and fully disconnecting carries a ripple effect of benefits," Carmel Galvin, chief human resources officer at Glassdoor, told MarketWatch. 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