How To Make The Most Of Your Vacation Days At Work

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: Employees at tech startup company Fast work at their desks in the office on March 24, 2021 in San Francisco, California. A limited number of employees at a tech company in San Francisco returned to work in the office as San Francisco and 5 other California counties moved into the orange tier of reopening. The orange tier allows non-essential offices to open at 25% capacity. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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How many vacation days did you use last year? Americans are notorious for not taking a break. In fact, the average U.S. worker took less than 12 days of vacation in 2021, according to Expedia's latest Vacation Deprivation study - and that’s six fewer days than the global average.

But not taking time off isn’t helping people be more productive and the majority of workers say taking vacations actually makes them more motivated when they’re back on the job. Need a nudge to help you use the vacation days you’ve earned? Professionals with hectic schedules share how to maximize your PTO like a corporate exec.

Plan your vacations in January - Right after you return to work from the winter holidays is a great time to plan your time off for the year, according to Kim Jones, PwC’s talent strategy and people experience leader. Every January she starts thinking about her travel plans for the rest of the year and she even spaces her yearly paid time off into quarters.
Don’t include your phone number in your out-of-office - Expedia’s study finds that 63% of U.S. workers put their phone number in their OOO message, but you don’t have to. Even the president of Microsoft North America, Deb Cupp, doesn’t do this and she thinks being unavailable is a good thing. "I used to say, 'If there's an emergency, you can reach me via phone,'" Cupp says. "I stopped because everyone's definition of an emergency is different."
Take a vacation from social media, while you’re at it - When you’re on vacation, social media can be its own distraction and that’s why Eric Han, head of U.S. safety at TikTok tries to take a break from it while traveling. He’s been known to delete apps like Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok from his phone when he’s on vacation or leaves his phone in his hotel room on purpose.
Keep your return date to yourself - To give yourself time to ease back into work mode, Melanie Fish, head of global PR for Expedia Group, recommends setting your out-of-office for a little longer than you’re actually out and keeping it “kind of a secret” that you’re back for as long as possible.
Have a vacation accountability buddy - Priti Joshi, Bumble’s VP of global commercial strategy and operations is a fan of having a vacation accountability buddy, someone who will remind you to slow down and take a break, especially when work is demanding.

Who are these people who don’t use their PTO and how can I use it for them?

What Did MRL Do On Vacation? (GALLERY)

Maney, Roy & LauRen just came back from their 2-week summer vacation and to say they all did different things is an understatement. Maney took a family trip to Chicago, while Roy went to the Dominican Republic and LauRen visited 8 cities in 1 week in Italy! Check out some of their highlights.