Millennials are quickly becoming the largest generation in the workforce, but there is a growing trend among them that varies from their older coworkers. They’re using less of their vacation days because they feel afraid to ask for them and guilty using them, enter “vacation-shaming." It seems younger employees feel “vacation-shaming” from their bosses and coworkers and believe they’re being indirectly discouraged from taking time off.
Millennials vacation days remain unused
The amount of people who use all their vacation days has dropped in recent years in the US, and it has become an increasingly prominent trend among the younger generation of workers. According to the annual Allianz Travel Insurance Vacation Confidence Index, as many as 25 percent of Millennials reported feeling nervous when requesting time off, as opposed to 14 percent of Gen X’ers and 6 percent of workers aged 55+. There is a growing sense among Millennials that they need to demonstrate commitment to the job, even if it comes at a cost to their mental and physical health.
Protecting their professional image
Unfortunately, these stats are even more common with millennial women, who reported that only 46 percent of them had used their full vacation time. Women are more likely to feel guilty, replaceable, or want to demonstrate “complete dedication” to their job. Women also worry about the effect of their absence on their job, with fears of returning to too much work, or that no one else can effectively complete their tasks. Young women are more concerned with these fears than young men, as more men are taking advantage of their vacation days.
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