After a long pandemic year, the overwhelming majority (92%) of Americans will travel, or already have, in 2021; with 52 percent going as soon as this summer, according to the Priceline Work-Life Balance Report, released Wednesday.
Priceline, a world leader in travel deals, surveyed full- and part-time employees to examine consumer thoughts around paid time off (PTO) in 2020 compared to 2021, identify trends on how the modern workplace impacts Americans’ desire to travel and how they travel, and determine how Americans plan to use their PTO.
Remote work has made work-life balance more achievable, allowing Americans to travel and work from anywhere. According to the survey, Americans traveled less than ever in 2020 and felt the loss in more ways than one.
Only one in five (21 percent) used all of their PTO in 2020, down from 30 percent in 2019, with 30 percent of those who didn’t use all their PTO holding off in hopes that they’d be able to travel later and 28 percent planning to carry over their unused days.
More than half (54 percent) of those who didn’t use their days off regret not taking them, representing a significant change from the one in five (21 percent) who felt that way in 2019, according to findings from a 2019 Priceline survey. Parents were most likely to note their mental (78 percent) and physical health (73 percent) would have benefited from taking a break.
Those with regrets feel they “wasted” their newfound flexibility (35 percent) and regret not working from different/new places (32 percent). Two-fifths (40 percent) regret not taking more trips, especially younger generations (49 percent of Gen Z and 51 percent of Millennials, compared to 37 percent of Gen X and 22 percent of Boomers).
A recent Harris Report survey revealed 40 percent of Americans prefer to work from home full-time.The rise in popularity of workcation trips, which combine work and vacation.
A whopping 75 percent of people say remote work has made work-life balance more achievable, with 72 percent enjoying not having to go into the office so they could work from different locations and 66 percent feeling encouraged to explore new destinations.
Sixty percent of respondents say remote work has encouraged them to blur the lines and take more workcations. Meanwhile, 34 percent report extending a trip because they have the ability to work from anywhere.
After a housebound 2020, Americans are poised to embrace this freedom with a vengeance, as two-thirds plan to take full advantage of working remotely by traveling more this year and plan on using more PTO in 2021 compared to any other year. In fact, although their 2020 trips were canceled, more than half of Americans plan on rescheduling them all this year.
When asked if they plan to travel and are excited to do so, respondents noted yes: 78 percent are excited to travel, and 92 percent say they plan to do so.
To read Priceline’s full Work-Life Balance Report, outlining additional trends and details on how Americans are traveling, visit Press.Priceline.com.
