It is the punch-line to the clich\u00e9d, \u201cWhat\u2019s your biggest weakness?\u201d interview question: \u201cI work too hard. I care too much.\u201d But somewhere along the way, the joke became prophecy.<\/p>\n
The inability to take time off has become one of America\u2019s greatest work culture failings, defining hard work quantitatively not qualitatively, epitomized by the 658 million vacation days workers left unused last year.<\/p>\n
Americans consistently assert their vacation time is important, yet the majority leave days unused each year. Who is to blame? The strongest influencer over taking time off is not workers themselves: it is their bosses. The High Price of Silence analyzes management\u2019s viewpoints, pressures, and privileges regarding time off.<\/p>\n
We must better understand how to create meaningful solutions that work for individual employees and companies. The vibrancy and success of the American business community depends on it.<\/p>\n
GfK conducted an online survey using the GfK KnowledgePanel\u00ae from January 20-February 16, 2016 with 5,641\u00a0American workers, age 18+, who work more than 35 hours a week and receive paid\u00a0time off from their employer.\u00a0GfK\u2019s KnowledgePanel\u00ae is the only large-scale online panel based on a representative random sample of the\u00a0U.S. population. This report looks at a subset of this data,\u00a0including 1,184 respondents who have managerial\u00a0responsibilities and 312 managers who are executive and senior leaders.<\/p>\n
Throughout the report, the data will be referenced according to the following definitions:<\/p>\n
Oxford Economics completed a review of Form 10-K financial statements filed with the Securities and\u00a0Exchange Commission (SEC) by 115 public companies employing 457,000 private sector workers.\u00a0The\u00a0financial statements reported the total cash value of accrued paid vacation time and the number of\u00a0employees for each firm. These data were used to estimate a per-employee liability for the sample\u00a0of public companies. Oxford Economics used the GfK survey to extrapolate the 10-K analysis to the\u00a0broader private sector economy.<\/p>\n
Managers\u2019 perspective on vacation time is a study in contradictions. While managers are incredibly supportive of taking vacation, they are out of touch with employee attitudes concerning time off and how loudly their\u00a0actions communicate a much different message to workers.<\/strong><\/p>\n