Purchasing Power released an infographic, 'Vacations: A Luxury or A Necessity?' that depicts employee vacation practices and outlines the consequences of failing to use all paid time off and not getting away.
Although most (59 percent) of Americans feel vacation-deprived, they fail to take all of their available paid time off. The infographic illustrates the true cost of vacation – or the lack thereof – both to employees and to their employer, including the financial stress that can counter the positive effects of vacation. It explores what employees are spending on vacation and how long it takes them to pay it off if they put it on a credit card.
A recent survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power in March 2014 showed that 28 percent of full-time employees who receive any paid time off didn’t take a vacation getaway last year where they truly went away and 52 percent of those employees said it was because they couldn’t afford to do so.
“Employers need to encourage employees to take time off and go away on vacation. Employers should also provide smart financing alternatives for workers’ vacation trips by offering an employee purchase program as a voluntary benefit that includes travel options,” explained Elizabeth Halkos, Purchasing Power’s Chief Revenue Officer. “Using this payroll-deduction approach is an affordable way for employees to get away on vacation utilizing a budget-friendly installment payment plan that is a simpler, more convenient alternative to credit cards or other financing options,” Halkos added. “While vacation memories can last for years, the payments shouldn’t.”
According to the Purchasing Power study, 30 percent of employees would be likely or very likely to use an employee purchase program to buy cruises, hotel rooms and vacation stays, if they were offered as a payroll-deducted voluntary benefit through their worksite.
For more information on vacation practices and solutions, refer to Purchasing Power’s white paper, “The Power of Vacation: Helping Employees Achieve Better Work-Life Balance.”