You might think that one of the biggest problems in the American workforce is the lack of paid time off (PTO), but it’s actually employees not using their allotted PTO. Whether due to worry of falling behind on work or other workplace anxieties, people across the US are losing vacation days, many of which won’t roll over into the next year. To rectify this problem, the US Travel Association (USTA) is launching a National Plan Your Vacation Day on January 28 to encourage people to set aside a day for vacation planning, and giving them helpful resources to do it.
National Plan Your Vacation Day Encourages Americans to Use All Their Time Off
According to the USTA, 55 percent of American workers didn’t use all their PTO last year, amounting to 768 million unused vacation days. The agency found that thoughtful and deliberate planning is integral to actually bringing your vacation to fruition.
Roger Dow, president and CEO of the USTA, said in a press release, “The beginning of the year is the time to pull out the calendar and start planning for the entire year. Before you know it, life happens, and you may find yourself in November with weeks left to use and simply not enough time left in the year to schedule them. National Plan for Vacation Day is the perfect reminder for Americans to plan to use those well-earned days off to explore this great nation. From the beaches of Puerto Rico to the Montana mountain tops, America truly has something for every travel style and budget.”
The USTA is asking Americans to commit to planning their vacations on January 28, 2020, and has even launched the vacation planning tool to help. The tool allows users to enter the number of days off they earn, link their work calendar, and then share it with family and friends.
Unfortunately, since January 28 isn’t an actual holiday, Plan Your Vacation Day might have to start after 5:00 PM.