Most Americans are taking time off this summer — but not fully unplugging. See the data behind the nation's vacation culture.

This is a special edition of The Work Shift, a weekly newsletter that keeps you informed about the economy, labor market and evolving world of work through data-driven insights. Click subscribe to be notified of future editions.

Heather Snavely , the CEO of AAA Washington, took a week-long trip with friends to Portugal earlier this summer. The challenge? Unplugging from work.

She made a conscious decision to avoid checking her inbox or looking for status updates. When she returned to work in Seattle, she found that “nothing burned down” and was able to dive back into work feeling refreshed.

Research shows that rest and relaxation are key drivers of creativity, productivity and overall engagement on the job. And while Americans like Snavely are traveling to Europe in droves this summer, they may not be reaping the same benefits, even if they are strolling cobblestone streets, visiting sandy beaches and drinking gallons of wine.

LinkedIn’s latest Workforce Confidence survey found that while most U.S. workers are planning to take time off this summer, they likely won’t check out completely. The findings underscore what many already know: Minimizing vacation — or working through it — is embedded in American culture.

Who is ready to pack their bags?

Just over half of U.S. employees (51%) plan to take time off and unplug this summer, the survey found. At the same time, the majority of vacationers report checking in with work by answering emails or phone calls (59%) and more than one-third of employees (35%) feel guilty taking time off at all.

The survey found there are some differences between younger and older workers.

Baby boomers, or those born between 1946 and 1964, are the least likely age group to feel guilty when vacationing. They’ve had longer careers and may feel like they’ve earned their rest and relaxation. But that may not necessarily translate to fully unplugging — a whopping 61% of baby boomers still read their emails, answer work calls or otherwise check in with their teams while taking time off. Gen Xers, born between 1965 and 1980, are also likely to check in with work when taking time off (61%), but are more likely than baby boomers to take a vacation to begin with (54% vs. 47%).?

Younger workers, on the other hand, are more likely to feel guilty taking time off — but less likely than their older counterparts to remain available while out of office.

Nearly four in 10 Gen Zers, born after 1997, and millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, report feeling guilty when taking time off. One potential reason? They are the age groups most likely to be focused on career advancement.

But younger workers are also known to be more protective of their work-life balance, so when Gen Zers do take time off, they aren’t as likely as older generations to check in with work. Only 44% of Gen Zers will check their emails, compared to an average of 59% across ages.

Behind the reluctance to fully unplug

These findings resonate with Ryan Goodman, a general manager based in Indiana. He said he’s often left his PTO unused for fear that “not being available every single day somehow signals a lack of dedication or commitment.”?

Even when he does manage to take a day off, he feels “pressure” to be reachable — and the majority of American men agree.

The Workforce Confidence survey found that men have a harder time unplugging from work when taking time off than women do, with 61% of men still checking in when taking time off, compared to 57% of women.

Peter Benzanson, a Massachusetts-based supply chain professional, said there’s no such thing as a “traditional vacation” for him anymore. “Knowing I need to be available in emergencies and knowing there will be 400+ emails waiting for me upon return makes any hope of real relaxation basically impossible,” he said.

While women have a slightly easier time fighting the urge to stay available while out of office, they are more likely than men to feel guilty for not working.?

It seems workers aren’t feeling empowered to take time off or fully unplug, regardless of gender. “Maybe with the advent of remote work, we might get lucky and see this start to shift,” Goodman said.

Separate findings bear this out. A recent Harris Poll found that 78% of U.S. workers aren’t using all of their PTO — and 75% wish they were able to. Some workers, the survey found, are instead leveraging the flexibility of hybrid and remote work to log on from a new locale without telling their bosses.

This form of “quiet vacationing” is particularly popular among younger workers. About 56% of Gen Z and millennials workers report participating in the trend, as they feel pressured to appear productive and meet tight deadlines. And, as the Workforce Confidence survey showed, are more likely than their older counterparts to feel guilty taking time off.

Executive coach Rebecca Zucker said the trend could be rooted in “a question of psychological safety, or lack thereof,” meaning employees may not “feel like they can have an open conversation with their manager about taking real time off.”

How U.S. vacation culture stacks up globally

Goodman said he thinks this “ridiculous work culture” is uniquely American.

Professionals in the U.S. get an average of 12 days of paid time off per year. Typically, only 11 of those days get used up, according to a recent global survey from Expedia . Meanwhile, professionals in some European and Asian countries are granted — and take — more than double that figure.?

Take France for example, where workers receive an average 31 days off. Most take advantage of this time off, only leaving an average of two days on the table. What’s more? The vast majority of French professionals (69%) report that a month off isn’t enough. That’s because French workers overwhelmingly classify time off as a basic human right — 93% reported so, compared to 83% of those surveyed in the U.S.

In the U.S., “not using all your paid time off has somehow become a badge of honor,” career coach Brett Holleman said. But that badge, he continued, is often underpinned by burnout and frustration, as shown by Goodman and Benzanson.

Trends like “quiet vacationing,” or simply working from elsewhere, don’t negate the need for actual, uninterrupted time off. Research shows unplugging not only improves mental health and limits stress, it also boosts productivity.

Consider AAA’s Snavely, who came back from her European vacation better for it. She said unplugging gave her the perspective needed to address a problem on the job that had previously eluded her for weeks. “It was that time away — to just not even think about it — that I wouldn’t have had if I’d been checking emails constantly,” she explained.

Holleman said others should follow Snavely’s lead. “Athletes rest to improve performance,” he said. And while an entire off-season or even a week away isn’t feasible for all professionals, “It’s still summer — think about taking a day off.”

Methodology: LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence survey is based on a quantitative online survey distributed to LinkedIn members via email every two weeks. Members are randomly sampled and must be opted into research to participate. For this wave, 6,427 professionals in the U.S. were surveyed from June 15 to July 26, 2024.

Allie Lewis , Bud Rashidian and Karen Bills contributed to this article.