That amounts to 4.73 million of the state’s workers who fail to use up all their vacation even knowing that their company’s policy means they will lose it. Overall, North Carolina workers throw away 16.6 million vacation days every year, which works out to almost four per person, according to Project: Time Off.
That study ranked North Carolina 35th among all states for workers who gave up unused paid time off. The study also examined the 30 biggest metropolitan areas and determined Washington D.C. ranked worst with 64% of workers forfeiting at least one day.
And when North Carolina workers do take vacation, they are likely to “compulsively check emails, juggle sick kids and conference calls, and hit a matinee before catching up on some work as they were to roam around a new place,” Visit NC notes.
“It’s a shame that people essentially pay to work by not taking their paid time off,” says Wit Tuttell, executive director of Visit NC.