Answer: Vacation
Clues: “Days” and “Off”
A report from Expedia found Americans take fewer days off than any other country in the world. On average, we get 12 vacation days a year, and 53% of us don’t use them all.
That’s despite the fact that two-thirds of us feel like we don’t step away enough. The top excuse was “life is too busy to plan or go on vacation.”
Japan actually gets fewer paid days off at 11. But they’re much more likely to take them all, and more likely to break them up. Most Americans take their vacation days in chunks, while Japan prefers long weekends. 32% of Japanese people take at least one day off a month, compared to 5% of Americans. The average worker in France gets 29 days off a year. That’s two-and-a-half times more than Americans get. 65% of people in the U.S. think they deserve more time off, compared to 69% of French people.
Final stat: The study found that over the course of their career, the average American will let 45 vacation days go unused.
(Expedia)