高失业率让美国人不敢休假

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.

感到压力大、需要休假吗？你可不是唯一一个这样想的人，但是超过半数的美国人却没有用掉他们的全部假期，尽管他们认为自己今年比去年更需要休假。

根据一项新调查，近三分之一的上班族即使休假也会隔天关心一下工作进度，还有些人每小时都要了解工作进展。

调查公司studyLogic的执行副总裁兼首席运营官塞缪尔．纳米亚斯说：“我们是工作狂。”该公司开展的这一调查涵盖了1500名美国成年人。

他补充说：“从总体上来看，这同美国的经济状况有很大关系，失业的人越来越多。”

鉴于失业率一直在9.6%上下徘徊，那些有工作的人似乎也不愿意抽空休息。

纳米亚斯解释说：“形势并不乐观，这也影响到了休假。人们休假比以前少了，那些计划休假的人也会对自己要去的地方精挑细选。”

同欧洲国家不同，在美国27%的被调查者说他们每年休假六到十天，20%的人每年休假不到三天，而欧洲国家的人每年休假四个星期或以上很正常。

不过五分之二的被调查者认为每次需要休息上三四天才能得到放松。威斯汀饭店集团委托开展了这一调查。

失业的人越多，有工作的人在工作中要承担的责任就越大，从他们缺少假期就可以看出。

这一调查显示，截至8月22日，22%的上班族都还没有或尚未计划用掉任何假期，尽管不休假的话可能会让这些假期失效。

大部分没去休假的人提到了他们工作中的太多责任或压力，还有一些人说他们简直连计划休假的时间都没有。

纳米亚斯解释说：“人们更在意他们在假期中所做的事情和他们选择休假的时间，因为他们不想在这种形势下给人留下坏印象。”

64%的上班族坦言说他们已经取消或推迟了今年的假期，33%的人称这是出于工作方面的原因。

科技的发展也有一定影响，黑莓手机和智能手机让上班族们有更多方式保持联系，这种沟通在以前是不可能的。

纳米亚斯补充说：“这不仅同技术相关，也和人们对办公室事务的关注度有关系。”

Vocabulary:

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

forfeit: to lose something or have something taken away from you because you have done something wrong （因犯错）丧失，被没收