Moldy Peaches

It is officially time to put away the white pants for another year as summer has drawn to a close and Labour Day has come and gone. Summer is often the time for Canadians to head to the cottage, visit relatives or enjoy their garden, however, the season is ending with millions of Canadians not having taken all the vacation they could have.

Despite the best efforts of Expedia and others, statistics show one in four working Canadians don't take all the time off they are entitled to - which is an average of 21 days annually. In fact, the average employee gives up three vacation days a year, according to a survey by Ipsos-Reid Canada.

It is not surprising why workers shy away from taking their earned time off. The majority are worried about job security and advancement. Experts are witnessing an increasing avoidance to people taking off large blocks of time, in exchange for two- or three-day breaks.

The real interesting part of the survey is that of the people who don't take time off - work on vacation days out of fear (30%) than out of financial need (20%). It isn't, as many knee-jerk Polly Anna’s fear, always about lack of money.