A necessary parenthesis
There are many times that we make excuses for ** not going on a trip :** "right now I prefer to save...", "I don't know what they would do at work without me...", "I don't have someone to go with ..."
However, according to the experts, everything we intend to achieve giving up to our holidays, or to a part of them, it is fair the opposite of what we achieved.
THE TREND TO SHORTEN HOLIDAYS
Last year, more than half of Americans ended the year with unused days off, while 25% no vacation days were taken. They are data from Project: Time Off, a study of the US Travel Association , which also states that a third of those days that no one claimed as their own they won't even be returned employees in the form of wages.
Do not give up your share of relaxation!
The trend started in 2000, when the population began to shorten the traditional 20 days a year that had marked this period for decades. In 2014, statistics reached its record low almost two weeks and, although now he has improved a little - he is in 17 days -, continues to be insufficient for the travel association.
"overwhelmed by the stress and pressure of a 24/7 work culture , [Americans] are working on the verge of exhaustion and leaving hundreds of millions of vacation days on the table each year (and losing hundreds of billions of dollars in economic potential) ", they emphasize from the organization.
The consequences, in addition to the pocketbook, are felt in society: "the deprivation of vacations in the United States reduces the time we invest in our personal relationships, undermines our job performance Y threatens our health and well-being ", they warn.
AND IN SPAIN?
In Spain, not being able to go on vacation for at least one week a year is an indicator of poverty and risk of social exclusion, something that gives us an idea of the importance of these holidays.
Thus, according to figures from Eurostat , the statistical office of the European Community, 40.3% of the country's inhabitants could not afford to spend that week of vacation outside their residence, a figure that is above the 32.9% of the European Union average.
In Spain we go on vacation less than in the EU
In fact, according to the eDreams study ** The European Traveler. Trends and forecasts 2017 **, which accounts for all reservations made on the platform, only 40% of Spaniards spend between one and six days to his summer vacation, while nothing more than a 17% spend a week away from home.
WHY DON'T WE GO ON VACATION AS MUCH AS WE WOULD LIKE?
The money It is, obviously, the cause that most slows us down when traveling. In the case of the United States, it is configured as the greatest impediment to the 71% of the participants. But it's not always their lack what makes us give up vacations: sometimes, it has more to do with our perceived ability to keep the job.
"Employees concerned that taking vacations would make them seem less dedicated or replaceable they were much less likely to use all their vacation time," they say from Project: Time Off.
This reality becomes especially resounding among those who felt that "Your workload was too high " and that "no one else could do his job."
Have children, continues the study, supposed the Four. Five% of refusals to travel, followed by own pets (39%) . With what we like at Traveler ** traveling with our offspring ** and ** our little animals ...** !
THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT TAKING A HOLIDAY
"Americans who take all or most of their vacation days to travel - the mega-travelers - report clearly higher rates of happiness than those who use little or none of their time to travel", they explain from the US Travel Association.
Not going on vacation could come back to haunt you
But not only that: contrary to what it might seem, they also get more benefits at work.
Thus, more than half of these mega-travellers claimed to have received a recent promotion , specifically, a 12% more than those who use their vacations little or not at all. They also received bonuses or raises in a 6% more than the latter.
That is, those who gave up these days in the name of savings or greater stability at work, also lost out in these areas to those who yes they took them.
These data take on special meaning if we take into account that, as stated by the psychologist James Burque , the holidays are a fundamental source of well-being.
"Create a parenthesis in our working season with benefits on an emotional level before, during and after from the same. Before, because they believe an illusion and a feeling that the working period will have one stop concrete in time, something that helps manage stress at work. during, because we leave behind routines labor, we cut with many worries, we oxygenate and we carry out activities that they relax us And then because remembering vacations generates positive emotions , and because we started the work with more Energy vital".
All these benefits are reinforced if we walk away of the place where we live.
Holidays are more important than you think
According to the study Holiday travel, staycations, and subjective well-being , from the University of Tampere (Finland) , "scientific evidence shows us that traveling has some advantages that staying at home during our free time doesn't have.
"During the trip, the subjects they slept more, became more involved in physical and social activities and less in mandatory activities," reads the investigation. {#resultbox}
Furthermore, "the hedonistic-type well-being scored higher, and ruminative thinking was lower"
Physical distance from both home and work was associated with participation in activities that provide resources rather than consume them , and it seems to translate into a mental distance from everyday concerns".
For Burque, in fact, the offer enough vacation should be a priority objective of both the state and the companies, since these days off have a direct impact on the wellness of people.
"At the work level, vacations are, from a psychological point of view, the best investment a company can make in its worker "explains Burque. If, in addition, the work environment gives flexibility At the time of choosing how to spend vacation days , even better, assures the professional.
In fact, spend a long time without taking a vacation can take its toll on us: "I always say that we have a bunch of brains , a Ferrari, for example, capable of going 300 kilometers per hour many times. But no matter how much Ferrari we have in mind, if we continue all the time to full speed , the oil will begin to burn, the nuts to come off, to run out of gasoline. We have to learn to create relaxation habits that help stop the engine, refuel and keep the car in good condition, and vacations are a great way to do it ", concludes the professional.
Better to be a 'mega traveler'