Your eyes are watching the picturesque, serene beaches, the sun is perfectly warm, and the calendar says “on leave.” Yes, that is what we all crave. With memes and reels flooding our feeds about vacation days and fake sick leaves, we know this is the kind of rest we all yearn for, and deserve the most. Far from the humdrum and hustle of the cubicle, we find some time for ourselves.However, for Americans, the picture is not rosy. It is blotted with overwork and the guilt of taking leave. They are not reading novels or building sandcastles. They’re answering emails between bites of breakfast, jumping on “just one quick call” before lunch, and checking Slack notifications from their hotel beds.Numbers nod an emphatic yes. According to a recent survey by the Movchan Agency, 54% of US workers admit to working during vacations, while 50% feel guilty for taking time off. At a time when the world is on its way to lionize work-life balance, America’s line between ambition and addiction to work seems to be eroding.
Vacation is just name-sake
The reality of vacation for numerous workers today is not about relaxation but relocation. The scenery changes, but the screen time doesn’t. From frontline workers to mid-level managers, the inability to disconnect cuts across sectors. Many Americans, even when they have applied for paid leave, continue to engage with work tasks, sometimes voluntarily, often because they must. Some cite concerns over falling behind. Others are apprehensive that taking leave will make them less committed. For a significant cohort, there is a deep-seated discomfort with the idea of completely logging off.This phenomenon has found a seat in multiple surveys brimming with paradox: Vacation is offered, but not culturally supported. In some organisations, being unavailable, even temporarily, is quietly judged.
When rest comes with guilt
The 54% figure is not just about behaviour, it is about a nurtured mindset. The Movchan Agency survey also found that half of all workers feel guilty when taking time off. This guilt often stems from workplace dynamics that often applaud those who trade their sleep and sanity for work.The result is a kind of “performative vacation”—where workers post photos of beaches and forests, but continue to monitor their inboxes, just in case. Time off, instead of a mental reset, becomes a backdrop for ongoing labor.
The consequences of constant connection
The inability to disconnect is not without repercussions. Numerous studies in occupational psychology have linked poor detachment from work with surge in burnout, diminished productivity, emotional fatigue, and long-term stress.Psychological detachment, the ability to mentally disengage from work during non-working hours, is recognized as essential for recovery. Without it, rest loses its restorative power. When vacations are filled with alerts, updates, and low-grade anxiety, they offer little more than a change in geography.
A systemic challenge
Unlike numerous developed nations, the US does not have a mandate for paid vacations at the federal level. Even when leaves are listed on the official calendar, the cultural environment around taking can be complicated. In some cases, workers report that taking leave leads to latent penalties: Missed opportunities, slowed advancement, or cold shoulders.
The bigger question
The question that prevails is: If half of the workforce cannot disconnect, even when officially off the clock, then what does that say about how we value labour, and by extension, people?It is no longer about who can take a vacation, but whether their hearts will allow them to rest. If taking time off has become a reward rather than a right, the workplace is not just exhausting, it is unsustainable.
Reclaiming the right to log off
The solution cannot be urging workers to “switch off” on an official email. Rest must be actively safeguarded by policies, by leadership examples, and by a cultural shift that enshrines boundaries.Until then, vacations will remain what they have quietly become for millions of Americans: A hopeful idea blurred by unread emails, ongoing obligations, and a gnawing sense that stepping away might cost more than it heals.
