Another sign the economy’s crawling back: A substantial number of workers feel better about taking vacation this year than they did in Summer 2010.
More than a third (36%) of workers responding to a recent CareerBuilder survey said they feel more comfortable taking a summer break this year.
How long are they planning to be gone? Twenty-six percent are planning a vacation of 7 to 10 days, while 11% expect to take two weeks or longer. Twenty-four percent are planning for 3 to 5 days or a weekend getaway.
That’s the positive spin on the survey results. Here’s the negative:
- 24% said they can’t afford to take a vacation in 2011, up from 21% last year, and
- Another 12% reported they can afford a vacation, but don’t have plans to take one.
It’s long been proven that vacations are an important tool in maintaining employee morale and productivity. Unless your firm’s still running so lean you can’t operate when people take time off, it’s probably a good time to get out the word that management is fully behind the idea that employees are entitled to some R&R.