Purchasing Power Offers Vacation Packages as a New Voluntary Benefit that Improves Employees' Work-Life Balance and Employers' Bottom Line

ATLANTA, June 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Employees aren't using their vacation days and it's taking a toll not only on their work-life balance and their health, but also on their employer's bottom line. According to a recent survey, more than one-half (52 percent) of full-time employees who had unused vacation days or did not take a vacation away from home last year did not do so because of the cost.¹ Employers now can offer a voluntary benefit program to help workers fund their getaway. Purchasing Power recently added vacation packages to the comprehensive line of products and services available as a payroll-deducted voluntary benefit through its employee purchase program.

Making it easier for employees to fund a vacation can be beneficial to the employer. HR professionals say that employees who take most or all of their vacation time each year are more productive and more satisfied in their jobs than those who do not.² 

A recent survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power in March 2014 among 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18+ (among whom 756 are employed full-time) showed that 28 percent of full-time employees who receive any paid time off didn't take a vacation getaway last year where they truly went away and 52 percent of those employees said it was because they couldn't afford to do so.³

There's another role for employers in empowering employees to go away on vacation – that is in providing smart financing alternatives for their trips. The survey also found that 72 percent of employees took a vacation out of town last year. When asked how much they spent on that vacation:

• 36 percent spent $1,000 or less;
• 26 percent spent $1,001 to $2,000;
• 20 percent spent $2,001 to $3,000; and
• 15 percent spent more than $3,000.

Among the vacation packages available through Purchasing Power are cruises, hotel rooms and resort stays. Using this payroll-deduction approach is an affordable way for employees to get away on vacation utilizing a budget-friendly installment payment plan that is a simpler, more convenient alternative to credit cards or other financing options.

Taking vacation is beneficial not only for employees but for their employers as well, according to a new Purchasing Power white paper released this week.  "The Power of Vacation:  Helping Employees Achieve Better Work-Life Balance" uses proprietary and industry research to explore the role of vacations in employee work-life balance and in company productivity. It examines what today's employees are saying about their work-life balance concerns and vacations, including why they don't use all of their paid time off. It also discusses the role of employers in encouraging employees to use vacation time.

"Taking a vacation – having complete time away – can be one of the healthiest steps employees can take in achieving work-life balance," Richard Carrano, Purchasing Power president and CEO, said. "Employers may not be able to provide unlimited vacation days for employees, but they can provide support by encouraging workers to use their vacation days and by offering an employee purchase program as a voluntary benefit that includes travel options to enable them to afford a real vacation," he added.  

According to the Purchasing Power study, 30 percent of employees would be likely or very likely to use an employee purchase program to buy cruises, hotel rooms and vacation stays, if they were offered as a payroll-deducted voluntary benefit through their worksite.

The complete white paper, "The Power of Vacation: Helping Employees Achieve Better Work-Life Balance," is available in the Employer Resources section of the Purchasing Power website. 

About Purchasing Power, LLC
Headquartered in Atlanta, Purchasing Power is available to six million people through large companies – including Fortune 100s – and government agencies. Purchasing Power is one of the fastest-growing specialty e-retailers in the market offering a leading voluntary benefit program. Purchasing Power was honored for "World Class Service" by Smart Business, recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies for six years on the Inc 500|5000, and is one of "Atlanta's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For." Purchasing Power is 'Powering People to a Better Life™' through its employee purchase program, financial literacy efforts and charitable contributions. Purchasing Power is a Rockbridge Growth Equity, LLC Company. For more information, visit www.PurchasingPower.com.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power via its Quick Query omnibus product from March 11-13, 2014 among 2,037 adults (of which 756 are full-time employees) ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Kristen Weeks, [email protected].

About Nielsen & The Harris Poll
On February 3, 2014, Nielsen acquired Harris Interactive and The Harris Poll.  Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence and mobile measurement.  Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands.  For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

¹ Harris Poll/Purchasing Power survey, March 11-13, 2014.
² Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Study, "Vacation's Impact on the Workplace," Nov. 12, 2013.
³ Harris Poll/Purchasing Power survey, March 11-13, 2014.

SOURCE Purchasing Power