Almost two-thirds of vacations canceled

Being a working stiff blows. It’s bad enough that two years of recession sorrows have forced us to “work smarter not harder” and “do more with less.” Now, we’re also turning our vacations into office time. A study commissioned by Westin Hotels & Resorts, based on 1,500 employed professionals, found that nearly two-thirds (64 percent) canceled their vacations this year. A third canceled their vacations for work-related reasons.

For those who pushed forward with their time off … well, why did they bother? Twenty-five percent of respondents say they check into work hourly while on vacation – by e-mail and phone.

Okay, so are you ready for the real shocker now? A whopping 58 percent of respondents say “they are more in need of a vacation than last year.” What good would it do, though, if they’re just going to spend the whole trip checking in at the cubicle farm? To make matters at least a shade grimmer, 67 percent “feel better on vacation” and 64 percent “sleep better when they’re not working.”

[photo by Evil Erin via Flickr]