Workers Want a Vacation and Feel It’s OK to Take One Now

In a recession, workers are always worrying about the stability of their jobs and the perception that taking time off from their jobs would be thought of as shirking productivity for pleasure. While workers acknowledge that we are not completely out of the recessionary woods, the forest is looking a lot fuller than it did a year ago.

Consequently, workers are feeling a whole lot better about taking a vacation this year, according to a new study of 4,800 workers from the popular job board and Website CareerBuilder.

“[W]orkers need to follow through and actually utilize their full vacation benefits; 15 percent reported that they didn’t use all of their allotted time last year,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president at CareerBuilder, in a statement. “Utilizing time off to recharge batteries is even more important today as staffs have shrunk over the last 18 months and workers are dealing with added responsibilities and pressure.”

Here is some of the key data from the study:

“More than half (56 percent) of workers say they are more in need of a vacation in 2010 than they have been in past years. Additionally, 36 percent say they feel more comfortable taking a vacation in 2010 than in 2009 due to an improving economy.“

But what do employers think about employee vacations this year?

“Taking a vacation may not mean being completely unhooked from the office. Nearly half (49 percent) of employers say they expect employees to check in with the office while they are away, with 37 percent indicating it’ll be necessary only if they are working on a big project or there is a major issue going on with the company. One-quarter (25 percent) of workers say they plan to contact the office at least once while on vacation, regardless of what they are working on.“

The message from nearly half the companies to employees is: Keep your BlackBerrys charged and be prepared to handle work if it arises.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!