Americans get, and take, less vacation than many other countries

Workaholics anonymous

Gerri Kellman, General Counsel and erstwhile CEO at Waystar Royco in Succession, once characterized employees at top European rivals as “soft… sick on vacation mania” — compared to American workers, she might have been onto something. 

According to the 24th installment of the annual Vacation Deprivation Report, carried out by Harris Research Partners and commissioned by Expedia (yes, the travel company), US employees are allotted 12 vacation days each year on average… and only take 11 of them. Of the countries surveyed, America comes last on the average number of vacation days allotted and the average number of vacation days taken, and, for the most part, it’s not even close. 

Aside from Mexico, where workers clock more hours than any other OECD nation, and Japan, where employees didn’t use 7 of their 19 allotted days, most other countries make the US  look like a nation of workaholics. 

Per the report, workers in Hong Kong were happiest to get stuck into their PTO pot, typically not leaving any of their average 26 vacation days unused. Meanwhile, Europeans were doing their utmost to prove Kellman’s maxim, with France, Germany, and the UK all granted at least 27 days of vacation.