A new study has found that working Americans lose their vacation bliss once they return to their jobs. The study also found that most people aren't able to enjoy themselves when they're on vacation.
After Vacation
A survey conducted by the American Psychological Association on 1,500 working Americans, who either work full-time or part-time, shows that when participants returned to work from vacation, only 68 percent claimed to be in a better mood. On the other hand, 57 percent of the participants claimed to feel motivated and less stressed.
About 58 percent claimed to be more productive and 55 percent stated they did better work. However, in post-vacation bliss, 40 percent claimed that it disappeared within days and 24 percent claimed that it vanished as soon as they returned to their jobs. Other workers claimed that they never felt relaxed while on vacation, with 21 percent claiming to still be stressed while away.
About 28 percent claimed that they worked more than they intended to and 42 percent did not want to return to work.
Stress In America
The survey, which was titled the Work and Well Being Survey, showed how important it is for people to recover from stressful and feeling burnt out. The head of the APA's Center for Organizational Excellence, David Ballard, said that employers shouldn't count on vacation to fix a stressful work environment and should address any factors causing stress in the office and offer more stress-management tips.
"Chronic work stress, insufficient mental health resources, feeling overworked and under-supported -- these are issues facing too many workers, but it doesn't have to be this way," Ballad continued.
The study found that only 4 to 10 of the participants' employers encouraged them to take time off. About 64 percent of those same employees claimed that their companies provided them with helpful stress management tips. This was compared to the 18 percent that claimed their employers encourage them to take time off.
Overall, 35 percent of the participants claimed that they have chronic work stress and at least 41 percent said that their employers provide them with sufficient resources to help them cope with it.
The reasons why many employees are stressed include low salaries, lack of growth, and heavy workload. Ballard elaborated that it's not a good sign when stress levels began to increase in the workplace shortly after an employee returns from vacation.
