How many days does the average American take off from work per year?

[katesorad]

Interesting discussion DH and I were just having, and it got me thinking.. I wonder how many days most Americans take off a year? That would include vacation, being sick, or personal days, etc.?

My DH took 4 days off for vacation last November, but nothing else in 2010. He isn't feeling good and that's how the discussion was started... if he has taken too much time off with the 4 days for vacation a few months ago.

 

[Lintasare]

Wow...only 4 days all year? I applaud your husband. I almost want to say he has taken too little time off.

I probably average about 10 days off in a year. And that includes vacation and sick since we only have one PTO bank and not separate vacation and sick banks.

Most of the time I take is for vacation. In over two years at my company I have only taken one sick day.

If your husband isn't feeling well I would take a couple of days to rest and recover.

 

[Planogirl]

I used to pride myself on taking no sick days and using less than my allotted vacation. My company has changed though and it's hard as heck to get time off so I use sick days if I need to.

Four days off all year is nothing!

 

[kwelch10377]

I get 4 weeks of vacation and 3 personal days, plus 5 sick days. I always take all my vacation days and personal days.

 

[Kathi OD]

Interesting discussion DH and I were just having, and it got me thinking.. I wonder how many days most Americans take off a year? That would include vacation, being sick, or personal days, etc.?

My DH took 4 days off for vacation last November, but nothing else in 2010. He isn't feeling good and that's how the discussion was started... if he has taken too much time off with the 4 days for vacation a few months ago.

4 days in an entire year? that's nothing. If the man is not feeling well, he needs to stay home, especially if what he has is contagious.

Generally, it's rare when an unhealthy employee is as productive as a healthy one.

 

[njmom47]

I get 3 weeks vacation and 3 personals which I take. In 2013 I get my 4th vacation week.
I get 56 paid sick hours which can be taken in increments of 2 hours so I usually take a couple hours off here and there (we get paid for unused sick time - a big incentive not to take it).
So I guess I take 18 full days off every year, and probably take a couple hours sick time once or twice a month.

 

[taylor1293]

My husband has probably taken 10-12 days off (total) in the last 6 years. His last sick day was 10 years ago.

I teach, so I get about 13 weeks off a year (unpaid). Plus, up to 10 paid sick days, 5 of which I can use for personal days. But I don't use them because I hate to miss work unless I have to.

 

[eliza61]

I remember reading an article saying although the average American gets 14 days vacation, we only use 10.

I get 5 weeks (25 days) and I can buy a week. I use all my time. LOL
I get unlimited sick time although if I'm out more than 10 consecutive days I need a doctors note.

 

[Mama Mouse]

I get 20 days of vacation and we have sick leave that accrues.

Because of the nature of my job, it's important that we not go to work if we're sick with something contagious or something that will require us to be unable to do our job. If I have to stay home with my son (rare) that would also count towards my sick time.

I will take every last second of my vacation and I've taken quite a bit of sick time this year but so has everyone else. It's been a rough year! We just had a vicious bug rip through the room that all of us is recovering from!

 

[pospisil]

I get 3 weeks vacation, plus 5 personal days, a year, and I use it all. We also accrue about one day per month sick time, but get in trouble if we use too much of it. I probably used 6 sick days last year, not real sure.

 

[tvguy]

We are REQUIRED to take our vacation time, there is no payout if you don't take it. So I took 15 days off last year. Holidays are not days off, you have a choice of double time or a day off later. I took the cash.
I haven't used any sick time in the 5 years in my current job, somehow I always manage to get sick Friday night, and am better by Monday morning.

This year will be interesting because our new policy is you have to use half your vacation by June 30. Too many people had time on the books at the end of last year....however now management is discovering that almost all those people ATTEMPTED to take the time off months before, but had their requests denied, so instead of "end the end of year vacation crunch headache", it has created the "beginning of the year vacation crunch headache".
The root of the problem is we laid off 30% of our staff in 2008, so we have enough people left for all the jobs, but no spare bodies to cover vacations and sick time. Throw in a couple of extended medical leaves, and maternity leaves, we are in a crunch.

 

[msjprincess]

I'm now a SAHM. DH gets 15 vacation days and 5 personal days. He's called in sick once in 13 years.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

I get four weeks of vacation, plus two "extra" days. We are required to take those days, and even if we weren't you bet that I'd be taking them!

Sick time is another story. I haven't taken a sick day in years. I've left early a couple times, but I rarely get sick.

 

[ICF]

4 weeks vacation and 2 PC days a year....

In 15 years of work, I've missed 2 or 3 days due to illness. We dont get sick days, but can stay home if actually sick.

I'd never call in "sick" if I really wasnt. That is what vacation and sick days are for.

 

[NMAmy]

I get 144 hours per year of vacation time which is 3 weeks and 3 days. Next year, I'll have been there 10 years and it goes up. I also get 96 hours of sick leave half of which can be used to care for an ill family member (parents, children, spouse.) That's been a wonderful perk with elderly parents. All of these hours roll over--I think sick leave is unlimited accumulation (you can donate to a sick leave bank) and you can't carry over more than 200 hours of vacation time.

Our fiscal year begins in July--so far this year I took 3 days in August when family came to visit, Columbus Day (since DH had it off), and a half day at Christmas. I'll be off for 6 days in March and then probably a week in May to visit dd. Even with all that, I'll still be rolling over at least 2 weeks.

Four days is nothing where I work--but, of course, the culture at your husband's office may be very different. I feel sorry for folks who don't get any leave time or are actively encouraged not to take it.

 

[golfgal]

DH never uses all of his vacation time. At one time he went almost 2 years without taking a vacation day. They were implementing a new computer system that was a total nightmare and he couldn't take time off. The company did pay him for unused time then (not standard policy). He has 4 weeks PTO now and he MIGHT use half of that, maybe.

I have never had a job where I actually got paid time off. The job I recently retired from I could take off as much time as I wanted because I worked for myself, but no official "paid time off". I usually took the equivalent of 5 weeks off during the year, which was pretty standard in the industry.

If the OP is looking for an "official" answer to what is "average" I would say that somewhere between 5-10 days would be average but that is just a guess.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

I get plenty of vacation time (because I work in education), as far as taking days off... I have good attendance, I don't know how many we get for sure because I have been there a while and they have piled up. One year I had perfect attendance, I think 5 is the most I have missed in any given year, combination of sick and personal. I have never taken more than one personal day in a year.

 

[dislal]

my DH has 5 weeks vacation now and 2 personal days he takes all of those every year and thats it he has never called off. That is one of the reasons why I love him so much

 

[Pakey]

I went years of working 80+ hours a week without ever using sick or vacation days. A life altering event made me see the stupidity of my attitude. I now take 15 days of vacation a year. Since I have a serious illness I never use my sick days so that I can save them for when I need them. I used 5 in 2010 when I was in the hospital.

 

[2DisPrincesses]

My DH gets 4 weeks paid vacation all of which he takes- it is a "use it or lose it system". He doesn't get "sick/personal" days. Although, he's the boss, so if something major comes up, he is able to move his managers around to cover him.