The FINANCIAL -- Roughly half of America’s workers say they’ll use all their vacation
time this year, and fewer are connecting with work on their off-time
compared to a year ago.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of 588 Working Adults shows that 49% plan to use all of their vacation time this year, while 39% do not. Another 13% are undecided.
The number planning on using all their vacation is up slightly from 46% late last year. The number who don’t plan on using it all is consistent with surveys back to November 2006.
Most working adults (66%) say they usually connect with work at least occasionally when they are away from the office, but that’s down from 72% last year. Of those who check in with the office, 22% do it every day, 16% connect on most days, and 28% do so only occasionally. Just 28% of workers say they don’t keep in touch with work at all when they’re away.
The survey of 588 Working Adults was conducted on June 3-4, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.
Forty-nine percent (49%) of workers say they haven’t taken any time off this year. Twenty-four percent (24%) say they’ve taken both a full vacation and some long weekends off. Another 12% have just taken a full vacation, while 14% say they’ve only taken off a series of long weekends instead.
Of those who have taken some vacation time this year, 58% say they returned to work feeling more refreshed, showing almost no change from last year. Twenty-three percent (23%) say they came back more stressed because of the work they missed. Another 17% say they came back from vacation feeling about the same way they did prior to going away.
Those who work in private companies are more likely to say they’ll use all their vacation time compared to government workers. Government workers generally stay connected to their job while away a bit more than those who work for private companies.
Men are more likely than women to have already taken a vacation. More women than men come back to work more stressed because of missed work
Among all Americans, 38% plan to take a summer vacation this year. But those adults say economic conditions have caused them to cut back on the vacations.
The Rasmussen Employment Index, which measures workers’ perceptions of the labor market each month, shows that 72% of workers are happy with their current jobs. Seventy-two percent (72%) also say it will be their choice when they leave their current job, while 14% say it will be their employer’s choice.
Most Americans still believe government workers work less and make more money than those employed by private companies. Yet while the majority also thinks government workers enjoy more job security, they’re less convinced of that than they were a year ago.
The government released a report on Friday showing surprisingly little job creation in May and an increase in the unemployment rate. Nearly one-out-of-three Americans (31%) predict that the unemployment rate will be even higher a year from now. Thirty-four percent (34%) believe it is good for the economy if the government hires more people. But 40% think more government hiring is a bad economic move, while 15% say it has no impact.
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