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  • According to a 2009 study, Canadian researchers Joudrey and Wallace reported that “active” leisure pursuits, such as golf, and taking vacations, helped to buffer the job stress among a sample of almost 900 lawyers.
  • An international group of researchers led by Xinran Lehto from Purdue University found that family vacations contribute positively to family bonding, communication and solidarity.
  • Expedia.com commissioned the Vacation Deprivation survey in 2010 and found that almost half of employees, or 47 percent in Canada, rate themselves as “very” or “somewhat” vacation deprived. The study indicated that both employees and employers play a role in the deprivation. Almost 25 percent of Canadian employees are not using all of their allotted vacation time and, on average, employees leave behind 2.17 days of unused vacation time per year. According to the study, the top three reasons Canadians do not use their vacation time are: not scheduling time off far enough in advance; work is their life and it’s too busy to get away; and lastly, their significant other is unable to take the time off from their job.
  • In 2005, Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin found that women who don’t take regular vacations were two to three times more likely to be depressed compared to women who take regular vacations. In 2010, there was an article published in the Ottawa Citizen warning, “Depression among public servants is Canada’s biggest public health crisis.” According to the article, 30 to 40 percent of the disability claims in Canada currently are from depression. In addition, the World Health Organization also released data indicating that depression is forecasted to be the number two cause of “disability adjusted life years” (DALY) for all ages by the year 2020. Currently, depression is the second leading cause of DALY for both men and women aged 15 to 44 years.
  • British researcher Scott McCabe noted that vacations’ “personal benefits have been found to include: rest and recuperation from work; provision of new experiences leading to a broadening of horizons and the opportunity for learning and intercultural communication; promotion of peace and understanding; personal and social development; visiting friends and relatives; religious pilgrimage and health; and, subjective wellbeing”. McCabe believes these positive benefits to be so strong that he recommends that families be given some form of financial assistance if they are unable to afford vacations on their own.