高失業率讓美國人不敢休假

Feeling stressed and in need of a vacation? You are not alone but more than half of Americans do not take all their vacation days, even though they think they need a holiday more this year than last.

And nearly a third of workers who do take a break check in with work every other day and some keep in touch hourly, according to a new survey.

"We're workaholics," said Samuel Nahmias, executive vice president and chief operations officer of research firm StudyLogic, which conducted the poll of 1500 American adults.

"From an overall perspective this has a lot to do with the economic situation in the US. More and more people are unemployed," he added.

With jobless numbers hovering at 9.6 percent people who have jobs seem to be reluctant to take time off.

"It is not a great picture and that affects vacations. People are not going on vacation as much and those that are going on vacation are being more selective about where they are going," Nahmias explained.

Unlike European countries where four or more weeks of holiday each year is the norm, 27 percent of people questioned in the poll said they had six to 10 days of annual leave and 20 percent had less than three days.

But two-fifths of people questioned in the survey commissioned by Westin Hotels & Resorts thought three to four days were needed to unwind during a break.

With more people on the unemployment lists those still with jobs are facing more responsibility at work, which is reflected in their lack of time off.

The survey showed that up until August 22 percent of workers had not used or planned to use any vacation days, despite potentially forfeiting the days if they were not taken.

The majority of workers who did not take time off cited too many responsibilities or stress at work, while some people said they simply did not have the time to plan a holiday.

"People are more conscious of what they are doing and when they are going on vacation because they don't want to look bad in this situation," Nahmias explained.

Sixty four percent of workers admitted they had canceled or postponed a vacation this year and 33 percent said it was because of work-related reasons.

Technology is also playing a part with Blackberries and smartphones enabling workers to keep in contact in ways that were not possible before.

"It has to do with technology and the level of concern about what is going on in the office," Nahmias added.

感到壓力大、需要休假嗎？你可不是唯一一個這樣想的人，但是超過半數的美國人卻沒有用掉他們的全部假期，儘管他們認爲自己今年比去年更需要休假。

根據一項新調查，近三分之一的上班族即使休假也會隔天關心一下工作進度，還有些人每小時都要了解工作進展。

調查公司StudyLogic的執行副總裁兼首席運營官塞繆爾•納米亞斯說：“我們是工作狂。”該公司開展的這一調查涵蓋了1500名美國成年人。

他補充說：“從總體上來看，這同美國的經濟狀況有很大關係，失業的人越來越多。”

鑑於失業率一直在9.6%上下徘徊，那些有工作的人似乎也不願意抽空休息。

納米亞斯解釋說：“形勢並不樂觀，這也影響到了休假。人們休假比以前少了，那些計劃休假的人也會對自己要去的地方精挑細選。”

同歐洲國家不同，在美國27%的被調查者說他們每年休假六到十天，20%的人每年休假不到三天，而歐洲國家的人每年休假四個星期或以上很正常。

不過五分之二的被調查者認爲每次需要休息上三四天才能得到放鬆。威斯汀飯店集團委託開展了這一調查。

失業的人越多，有工作的人在工作中要承擔的責任就越大，從他們缺少假期就可以看出。

這一調查顯示，截至8月22日，22%的上班族都還沒有或尚未計劃用掉任何假期，儘管不休假的話可能會讓這些假期失效。

大部分沒去休假的人提到了他們工作中的太多責任或壓力，還有一些人說他們簡直連計劃休假的時間都沒有。

納米亞斯解釋說：“人們更在意他們在假期中所做的事情和他們選擇休假的時間，因爲他們不想在這種形勢下給人留下壞印象。”

64%的上班族坦言說他們已經取消或推遲了今年的假期，33%的人稱這是出於工作方面的原因。

科技的發展也有一定影響，黑莓手機和智能手機讓上班族們有更多方式保持聯繫，這種溝通在以前是不可能的。

納米亞斯補充說：“這不僅同技術相關，也和人們對辦公室事務的關注度有關係。”

Vocabulary:

unwind: to stop worrying or thinking about problems and start to relax（放鬆）

forfeit: to lose something or have something taken away from you because you have done something wrong （因犯錯）喪失，被沒收