blog post

Most of us work hard for what we earn. That does not only mean our wages or salary. Would you tell your employer on December 31st that since you didn't use all the money you earned you want give it back? My guess is that the answer to that question is no for most of us yet employee benefits ARE part of your compensation. In my previous career, I was a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist. But it doesn't take a certification to figure out that vacation time earned is a part of the employee compensation package and therefore worth money.

Yet, according to a recent Hotwire survey, and a recent poll conducted by JetBlue - Americans throw away their vacations!

Hotwire.com, a leading discount travel site, released results from its American Travel Behavior Survey, According to the survey conducted online by Harris Interactive in a poll that involved 2,000 adults it was found that the average American employee has a week's worth (6.2 days) of paid vacation days left unused at the end of each year.

Similarly, another online survey conducted on behalf of JetBlue this fall found that some 57% of 1,100 workers polled do not use all their vacation days. In fact, in that poll, the average number of days left on the table comes to an astonishing tally of 11. The survey noted that most of those polled said they were afraid to ask for their rightful days off in a time of high unemployment and job insecurity.

Are you leaving money on the table at the end of this year?