It’s the heat of the summer and across the country and all over our social media pages, it seems the entirety of America – kids and adults – are taking one long summer vacation (“The beach!” “The lake!” “Italy!” “Niagara Falls!”). It can lead to serious “FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out) – or quite the opposite. Research shows that the average American worker experiences conflict between vacation FOMO and what I will term vacation “FODO” (Fear of Disconnecting from Office). The dread of facing a mountain of emails from even one day out of the office is enough to prevent many of us from shutting down and shutting off this summer.

This conflict is one reason why The Center for Economic and Policy Research has termed the U.S. the “No Vacation Nation.” A 2022 Korn-Ferry study found that 58 percent of workers say being away from the office “stresses them out” more than ever before. Interestingly, working women across industries take fewer vacation days than men, albeit by a 4 percent differential, even though women were more likely to tell researchers that taking vacation days is “extremely important” to them, as reported by Entrepreneur.

But there are both strong business and work-life balance cases backed up by science and research that should encourage you to ask for, plan, and take a vacation sooner than later. The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that employees who take advantage of vacation time return with increased productivity and creativity. Other documented company benefits of workers taking vacation include better retention rates (thanks to the valued “work perk” of paid time off) and lower health insurance rates. In fact, there is an emerging trend of companies insisting their employees take mandatory vacation, while some businesses, like PwC, are experimenting with the novel concept of company-wide scheduled vacation times (i.e., shutting down for one week while every employee is required to use their vacation days).

From an employee perspective, the slow burn of mental fatigue, as documented by the American Institute of Stress, is real. The Institute found that 40 percent of workers reported their job was “very or extremely stressful,” and that 25 percent of workers view their jobs as “the number one stressor in their lives.” The physical toll of employee burnout is also a concern. In 2021, a World Health Organization (WHO) study found that working 55 hours or more a week was associated with a 35 percent higher risk of stroke and a 17 percent higher risk of dying from heart disease, than a workweek of 35 to 40 hours.

Obviously, the first step in taking any time off work begins with checking your company’s leave policy and any time off records kept by HR, your manager, or supervisor. Even if you’ve worked at the same company for years and think you know the leave policy inside and out, it’s wise to do a quick annual check. In the era of COVID-19, many HR and work leave policies have changed, fluctuated, and continue to evolve. It’s also important to ensure that your personal recordkeeping matches HR’s and allows you to flag any discrepancies as soon as possible. Ideally, you’re doing this with every paycheck, but there’s never a bad time to review.

Fortunately, women working in the printing industry receive paid time off (PTO) from work at a rate higher than the national average. Over 94 percent of printing companies offer some type of PTO benefits, according to PRINTING United Alliance’s 2022 Wages, Salaries & Benefits Report. Some companies offer both PTO and vacation days as separate benefits. If that’s the case with your employer, take this quick quiz to determine the difference between PTO and an actual vacation. True or False?

PTO is used appropriately in the following circumstances:

  • You are ill, recovering, or seeking to prevent illness. (Yes – mental health counts!)
  • You are grieving.
  • You are caretaking.
  • You have a medical or other professional appointment that can only be scheduled during work hours.
  • You have a household/automobile emergency or imminent repairs to manage.

The answer to all of these statements is True. Now, do any of the above circumstances conjure “dream vacation” to you? If not, it’s time to start planning a true vacation with intention. If you still need to give yourself permission to unplug and chill out, consider the following:

  • Even a short vacation is beneficial. My personal equation is real vacation = three full days minimum (not including travel). By planning three days around a weekend or wrapping your vacation days around a federal/state holiday, you can extend it to a full five day workweek worth of vacation time. If you’re using the latter tactic, be sure to plan ahead as other co-workers are likely to have the same idea.
  • “Staycations” are legit vacations. In fact, during the height of COVID, many of us discovered the joy of day trips or traveling regionally in our own cars on our own timetables, as well as rediscovering nearby destination gems that we may have previously overlooked. Regional or local magazines (print or online) often publish day trip guides and are a good resource for staycation planning.
  • Vacations will almost always cost some money – but they don’t have to cost a lot of money. [See “Staycations” above.] And by “some money,” I mean even the minimal subway ticket, gas to a local park, or a food truck meal. Start a vacation fund; it can simply be cash in a paper envelope. Use it to fund whatever low-dollar or splurge vacation you plan. The simple act of using funds explicitly dedicated to vacation increases the mental notion that the experience or travel is more special than an everyday expense. And if you’ve set an expensive “bucket list” travel goal, a formal travel savings plan is a good idea. Check out online resources like TomorrowMakers or SoFifor tips, or consult your local bank on travel savings account options.
  • You can go on vacation by yourself. It’s not weird; it’s called “solo travel” and it’s extremely popular. In fact, Google the term and you’ll find tour group operators like Flashpack, G Adventures, and Odyssey Travelers that cater to solo travelers of all ages. We all have times in our lives when we’re not part of a couple, a family, or a vagabond friend group, or times when we don’t have compatible travel schedules or budgets. But, that shouldn’t stop you from taking full advantage of the benefits derived from taking a vacation from work.
  • There is no one definition of “vacation.” It’s easy to fall into the trap of hearing about a friend or co-worker’s glamorous vacation and beginning to think of your own as paltry or insignificant. If you choose to focus your vacation time on a charitable or service-oriented trip, you might come back to hear a co-worker comment, “That doesn’t sound like a real vacation to me.” Avoid this comparison pitfall at all cost! The only important factor of a vacation is that you’ve planned time away from your job with thought and intention, you have enjoyed your own interests or passions, and you feel refreshed and recharged when you come back to work.

Finally, we’ve all heard (or even uttered) the phrase, “I need a vacation from my vacation.” If your vacation itinerary has been intense, involves jet lag, or has required you to work hard managing travel partners (kids, families, pets, etc.), this sentiment is completely valid. Maybe consider using a PTO day to “recover” before heading back to your job.

And, if you’re still not convinced that taking a vacation is right for you (and for your employer), consider this: a recent U.S. Travel Association study promoted by the Harvard Business Review shows that employees who took fewer than 10 of their vacation days per year were 34.6 percent LESS likely to receive a raise or bonus within three years. By contrast, those employees who took MORE than 10 vacation days had a whopping 65.4 percent chance of receiving a raise or bonus in the same timeframe.

Remember, the official seasonal end of Summer isn’t until September 21st – that means you still have two months left to enjoy that vacation!