When Preparation Meets Freedom

Its 5:00pm EST. I clocked out of work and rushed to the elevator and the moment I stepped in the elevator car I saw another woman pulled out her phone to check her work email. Wait a minute, I wondered, didn’t we just leave work? Are we addicted to work? Or are we just really bad at checking out and leaving work behind? The latter might be true and I think it’s really ironic in the age of endless conversations around work-life balance the scale is off-balanced and tipping sideways. More interestingly, could this habit be a key contributing factor on why an alarming 55 percent of Americans do not take time off, yet 83 percent want to use their time off to travel.

Did you know that 1 in 4 Americans do not receive paid vacation and paid holidays off?

In 2018 Americans failed to use 768 million vacation days. A new year is upon us and my travel goal is to see more Americans take their paid vacation days off and stop leaving money on the table. While paid vacation is not an option for many people, more employers are providing paid holidays and vacation perks.

Did you also know the United States was dubbed a “no vacation nation”by the Center For Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)? 

In 2019 the CEPR conducted research and discovered that the United States made zero progress year over year and lagging way behind other well-developed countries because paid vacation or holidays are not mandated.  

As seen above, employers in the EU are legally eligible for 20-30 paid vacation days. On the other hand, in the United States, ink is far from paper to draft a policy mandating paid time off. While the above statistic is anxiety inducing and embarrassing, employers have rallied to provide paid time off, and Americans still do not use it to their advantage. The U.S employment rate is at an all-time high and in 2019 ninety percent of full time workers, thirty five percent of part-time worker, fifty two percent of low waged workers and ninety-one percent of high waged workers were given paid time off. However, only a combined 28% took time off. This begs the question, why are few Americans taking time off?

The truth is cost is still the number one barrier preventing people from taking time off for a vacation. Depending on the city you live in, cost of living can be skyrocketing. The same is true that fun local activities can take priority over vacation plans, and let’s be honest, all those birthday and wedding celebrations can quickly cause your bank account balance to dwindle. According to research published by the U.S Travel Association air travel hassels, logistical planning and coordination and flight availability/options are other contributing factors that serve as a road block. Ultimately, the root cause of not taking vacation is poor planning or no planning at all.

Moments Unplugged will help you kick-start your travel goals. The team is made up of global citizens who have traveled through North America, the Middle East and Latin America. The Moments Unplugged team has extensive experience planning itineraries and we will leverage our knowledge and expertise to provide first class service. Our priority is to provide a meaningful travel experience by curating an itinerary tailored to your style and interests. 

The truth is vacation planners often take more time and longer vacation (12 days) when compared to non-planners (5 days), but the story remains that nearly half (46%) of American households don’t do this simple step and lose out on their time off. 

Planning your trip with Moments Unplugged is like a personal shopping experience within your budget. The process is effective, fun and satisfaction guaranteed. We are so ecstatic to continue the conversation, advocate for more people to get paid vacation and inspire and encourage you to travel well in 2020 and beyond. We would love to help you maximize your moments. National Plan For Vacation Day is on January 28, 2020 and the team at the U.S Travel Association created The Vacation Planning Calendar that will allow you to enter your earned days, plot your vacation plans and export it to your personal calendar or share with others as you desire. 

Remember, preparation is the start of a journey to freedom and we’re so excited to be on this journey with you.

Pack your bags and get ready to jet set to your new dream destination!