Do you really need a vacation, but are hesitant to use up all of your days? Would you prefer to stay at work and skip out on fun in the name of higher productivity? That sounds admirable, but you may be doing more harm than good. Find out what an annual study has to say about vacationing trends among workers around the world, and particularly in the United States.

Unless you are an absolute workaholic, you probably enjoy your vacation time. Vacations for many people are a time that is highly anticipated and, in the end, usually does not last long enough. While it may seem common logic that almost everyone would use up all their vacation days, that is actually not the case.

Since the beginning of the 21^st century, travel site Expedia.com has conducted what they refer to as their own Vacation Deprivation Survey on an annual basis. The survey researches vacation trends among workers not only in the United States, but internationally as well. After looking at the Vacation Deprivation study results from 2009, it becomes pretty clear that many Americans are depriving themselves of precious vacation time, especially when compared to their counterparts overseas. That may not seem too important on the surface, but skipping out on vacation can not only effect productivity, but also your health.

According to the 2009 numbers, 34 percent of adults in the United States reported that they do not use up all of their available vacation days per year. As to why, a variety of reasons were given. The top reason cited was that if they did not use all their vacation days, they would receive monetary compensation for the unused days. Given the depressing economic climate, that is no surprise. The second reason cited was that in order to take a vacation, they had to plan far in advance. Given high workloads in many environments, planning a vacation far ahead can be a tricky venture. The third most popular reason for not using all vacation days was that their spouse or partner was unable to take vacation at the same time. This seems valid, as many would prefer to not getaway on their own. Instead of using their vacation time all at once, 39 percent stated they would take one main vacation that took up the majority of the days, and use the leftovers on an as-needed basis. Only 10 percent said they would take a one-time vacation that exhausted all their days.