Connect with us

Technology

Nearly Half of U.S. Workers Say They Won’t Deplete Allotted Vacation By Year End

Published

1 year ago

on

85% Percent of Workers Say It Would Be Beneficial for Employers to Mandate Taking Vacation Days  

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — As the holiday season nears, 48 percent of U.S. workers say they do not expect to take all of their allotted vacation days by the end of the calendar year according to a new nationwide survey of U.S. employees from Eagle Hill Consulting. The research also finds the vast majority of workers (85 percent) say it would be beneficial for their employer to mandate workers take a minimum amount of vacation days annually, and 37 percent say they would like an unlimited time off vacation policy.

These findings come as employee burnout remains high across the U.S. workforce, with 45 percent of the U.S. workforce reporting burnout. Younger workers report the highest levels of burnout, with Gen Z at 54 percent and Millennials at 52 percent. Women (49 percent) continue to report higher levels of burnout than men (41 percent).

“We’re seeing a bit of mixed messages among workers. On the one hand, Eagle Hill’s research finds more than one-third of workers say they want unlimited vacation, but half of workers already aren’t using their allotted vacation time,” said Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting. “It’s also intriguing that employees favor mandates of vacation time. Perhaps what we are seeing is employees feel they cannot take time off either for workload or workplace culture reasons, and they want to be compelled to take time away from work.” 

“The holiday season is right around the corner, which can be stressful for employees especially as nearly half the workforce reports burnout. One approach leaders can look at is proactively encouraging employees to take time off and setting an example by taking time away from work themselves. Of course, taking time off in the coming weeks isn’t possible in some jobs like retail and public safety, but employers can encourage breaks before or after the holidays or offer flexible work schedules. Establishing a culture that fosters taking time away to recharge can be highly beneficial to employers in terms of lowering burnout level, improving employee engagement, and fostering employee wellness,” Jezior explained.

The survey also finds:

More than one-third of Americans, (36 percent) have not taken a vacation in the past 12 months.When asked what type of employer paid time off policy they would want, 37 percent of employees say they want unlimited vacation, 31 percent say they want a designated number of paid days off, 27 percent want a designated number of sick and vacation days, while four percent prefer no paid time off.When it comes to the current structure of paid time off benefits, 43 percent say they have a designated number of paid days off, 32 percent have designated number of sick and vacation days, 10 percent of workers say they have unlimited time off, and 14 percent have no paid time off.Impediments to taking vacation include the expense of taking vacation (44 percent), self-imposed pressures (28 percent), heavy workload (24 percent), no paid time off (24 percent), no colleagues available to cover work (21 percent), pressure from managers (14 percent), and organizational culture (12 percent).More than half of workers (58 percent) say they totally disconnected on their last vacation, about one quarter (24 percent) say they checked email/messages while on vacation, and five percent continued to work.

These findings are from the 2024 Eagle Hill Consulting Worker Vacation Survey  conducted by Ipsos from October 4-9, 2024. The survey included 1,387 respondents from a random sample of employees across the U.S.

Eagle Hill Consulting LLC is a woman-owned business that provides unconventional management consulting services in the areas of Strategy & Performance, Talent, and Change. The company’s expertise in delivering innovative solutions to unique challenges spans across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. A leading authority on employee sentiment, Eagle Hill is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, with employees across the U.S. and offices in Boston and Seattle. More information is available at www.eaglehillconsulting.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nearly-half-of-us-workers-say-they-wont-deplete-allotted-vacation-by-year-end-302313404.html

SOURCE Eagle Hill Consulting LLC

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Technology

SoftBank Corp. and TOPPAN Holdings Develop Lightweight, Durable Skin for Solar HAPS Aircraft Wings

Published

50 minutes ago

on

April 27, 2026

By

Skin’s compatibility with stratospheric conditions such as extreme UV rays and ultra-low temperatures makes longer HAPS operations possible

TOKYO, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SoftBank Corp. (TYO: 9434) (President & CEO: Junichi Miyakawa, “SoftBank”) and TOPPAN Holdings Inc. (TYO: 7911) (President & COO: Satoshi Oya, “TOPPAN Holdings”) jointly developed a lightweight, durable skin for use on solar High-Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) aircraft wings and devised a testing method that replicates the stratosphere’s environment. Test production will go forward, and the aircraft wing skin is planned for use with HTA-type[1] HAPS, which SoftBank plans to deploy for commercial services from 2029 onwards.     

This jointly developed HAPS aircraft wing skin and test method that reproduces stratospheric conditions were made possible by combining SoftBank’s HAPS expertise and TOPPAN Holdings’ know-how accrued over years of creating advanced multi-layered film technology designed for packaging and construction materials. TOPPAN Holdings also leveraged its proprietary technology that evaluates weather resistance. This joint development mitigates film damage (degradation) caused by strong ultraviolet (UV) rays and ultra-low temperatures of almost -100°C. As a result, the aircraft can stay in the stratosphere for longer periods. 

Development Background
HAPS, also referred to as “base stations in the sky,” provide communication services from uncrewed aircraft that remain airborne in the stratosphere. Being able to keep an aircraft with a communications payload airborne for extended periods of time would make it possible to provide an alternative means of communications in the aftermath of large-scale natural disasters, as well as provide communication services to under-connected areas, such as mountainous regions and remote islands. As these platforms operate from the stratosphere at an altitude of approximately 20 km above, they offer wider-area coverage than base stations on the ground, while also providing high-quality, high-volume, low-latency communications superior to satellite-based communications. However, at this altitude in the stratosphere, UV ray and ozone exposure is far greater than at ground level, and with exposure to extremely cold temperatures that sometimes drop to almost -100℃, impaired efficacy due to these environmental factors had been a serious issue with conventional all-purpose skins. Responding to this challenge, SoftBank and TOPPAN Holdings jointly developed a new ultra-lightweight, high-durability skin for aircraft wings capable of withstanding the harsh conditions of the stratosphere, along with a specialized methodology for its evaluation.     

Wing Skin & Evaluation Method Characteristics
1. Use of impact-resistant advanced resin and proprietary structure to achieve both lightweighting and safety
Leveraging converting technology[2] developed for packaging by TOPPAN Holdings, an optimized skin structure was achieved by precisely layering original materials and impact-resistant advanced resin suitable for use at extremely low temperature conditions. The resulting skin weighs the same as or less than average conventional all-purpose skin, and even if damage to the skin were to occur, the break-resistant design keeps damage from spreading, allowing for both a safe and lighter HAPS airframe.    

2. Advanced durability to address harsh stratospheric conditions
SoftBank has contributed real-world data from its stratospheric HAPS flights, including actual temperature measurements and deep ultraviolet (UV-C) ray exposure conditions, and has also defined requirements such as weight reduction and other performance criteria. This has enabled TOPPAN Holdings to design a skin that addresses exposure to the harsh environmental conditions of the stratosphere by applying technology developed for construction materials. These conditions particular to the stratosphere include everything from extremely low temperatures (approximately -50℃ to -95℃) to extreme heat (approximately 100℃) from direct sunlight. The skin is also resistant to short wave UV-C and high-concentration ozone (10-20 ppm, parts per million) exposure that are far stronger than at ground level. This durability will allow for extended HAPS operation periods.      

3. Establishing a testing method that simulates stratospheric conditions to ensure reliability
TOPPAN Holdings leveraged its knowledge of packaging film testing and accelerated durability testing of construction materials, to construct a new test environment that assesses the skin under a simulation of the ultralow temperatures of the stratosphere, while also facilitating the testing of simultaneous exposure from short wave UV rays and the ozone. By using this test environment, it is possible to understand the detailed mechanisms of deterioration particular to the stratosphere and to use that knowledge for improved product design. This understanding and design adjustment makes it possible to carry out a more precise and more reliable evaluation compared to former testing methods.     

Roles of Both Companies
SoftBank
Provide expertise required to evaluate the suitability of the skin as well as expertise on HAPS operations
Supervision of advancing use with HAPS aircraft and transferring advances to practical application

TOPPAN Holdings
Develop and provide skin material suitable for HAPS aircraft
Proposal for evaluation method in stratospheric environment

Future Developments
SoftBank and TOPPAN Holdings will proceed with research to make the skin material developed within the scope of this project even lighter and stronger by fiscal 2027 (the year ending March 31, 2028). Additionally, while evaluating durability in the stratosphere, both companies will also attempt to establish mass production technology capable of ensuring sufficient supply and reliable quality by fiscal 2028. Also, based on testing outcomes, additional functions will be added, and the skin is expected to be used by SoftBank on HTA-type HAPS aircraft that provide commercial services, planned for launch from 2029 onwards. Both companies also plan to apply this skin to other fields that require a high level of durability.

[1] HTA (Heavier-Than-Air) refers to HAPS that remain airborne by generating aerodynamic lift, similar to conventional aircraft.

[2] Converting technology is the process of transforming materials like film into high-function final products through specialized processing such as printing and lamination. 

For more information:
https://www.holdings.toppan.com/en/news/04/newsrelease260427_1.html 

About SoftBank Corp.
Guided by the SoftBank Group’s corporate philosophy, “Information Revolution – Happiness for everyone,” SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) operates telecommunications and IT businesses in Japan and globally. Building on its strong business foundation, SoftBank Corp. is expanding into non-telecom fields in line with its “Beyond Carrier” growth strategy while further growing its telecom business by harnessing the power of 5G/6G, IoT, Digital Twin and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) solutions, including High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)-based stratospheric telecommunications. While constructing AI data centers and developing homegrown LLMs specialized for the Japanese language, SoftBank is integrating AI with radio access networks (AI-RAN), with the aim of becoming a provider of next-generation social infrastructure.
https://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/

About the TOPPAN Group
Established in Tokyo in 1900, the TOPPAN Group is a leading and diversified global provider committed to delivering sustainable, integrated solutions in fields including printing, communications, security, packaging, décor materials, electronics, and digital transformation. The TOPPAN Group’s global team of more than 50,000 employees offers optimal solutions enabled by industry-leading expertise and technologies to address the diverse challenges of every business sector and society and contribute to the achievement of shared sustainability goals.
https://www.holdings.toppan.com/en/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/toppan/

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/softbank-corp-and-toppan-holdings-develop-lightweight-durable-skin-for-solar-haps-aircraft-wings-302753970.html

SOURCE TOPPAN Holdings

Continue Reading

Technology

TravelingWiki Foundation Launches SportsFanWiki.com, Providing Disabled Fans with Sports Venue Specific Information in Wiki Format

Published

50 minutes ago

on

April 27, 2026

By

The setup of SportsFanWiki.com mirrors the extremely successful format of TravelingWiki.com, which documents disability resources for all FAA Large Sized and FAA Medium Sized hub airports and leverages the launch of a GenAI platform to ensure access across society to expanded disability resources information.

LAS VEGAS, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — TravelingWiki Foundation announces the launch of SportsFanWiki.com, providing a comprehensive database of sports venue information for fans with Non Visible Disabilities. The setup of SportsFanWiki.com mirrors the extremely successful format of TravelingWiki.com, which documents disability resources for all FAA Large Sized and FAA Medium Sized hub airports.

Leadership of TravelingWiki Foundation is honored to expand to sports venue disability information, offered free to the public and funded via the the sale of cards from the extraordinary careers of Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Shohei Ohtani and Mickey Mantle.

The launch of SportsFanWiki occurs at the same time as the launch of ShoheiAutographs.com; MantleRookies.com; KobeRookies.com; and LebronRookies.com, offering market leading sports card inventory of Shohei Ohtani, Mickey Mantle, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, respectively. The launch highlights TravelingWiki’s services offered including new Generative AI functionality via a GenAI platform currently in beta testing. The launch also spotlights TravelingWiki’s CardForACause.com platform for free disability resources offered to 20 million Americans for no cost as funded with sports cards sales nationwide via the most two recent White House administrations.

TravelingWiki CEO Jonathan Sutter notes, “Leadership of TravelingWiki Foundation is honored to expand to sports venue disability information, offered free to the public and funded via the the sale of cards from the extraordinary careers of Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Shohei Ohtani and Mickey Mantle, to highlight the critical resources offered via TravelingWiki for the Non Visible Disability community.”

More information about the non-profit work of TravelingWiki foundation is available via visiting http://www.Travelingwiki.com.

Media Contact

Jonathan Sutter, TravelingWiki Foundation, 1 4044033333, jonathan.sutter@travelingwiki.com, http://www.TravelingWiki.com

Jonathan Sutter, TravelingWiki Foundation, 1 4044033333, jonathan.sutter@travelingwiki.com, http://www.TravelingWiki.com

LinkedIn

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/travelingwiki-foundation-launches-sportsfanwikicom-providing-disabled-fans-with-sports-venue-specific-information-in-wiki-format-302753876.html

SOURCE TravelingWiki Foundation

Continue Reading

Technology

AiPPT.com Expands Its Approach to Turning Information into Ready-to-Use Presentations in India

Published

50 minutes ago

on

April 27, 2026

By

NEW DELHI, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — AiPPT.com has refined its platform as demand continues to grow in India for faster ways to turn everyday information into structured presentations.

Across universities, coaching centers, startups, and corporate teams, presentation work often begins with scattered material from notes, documents, and online sources. The platform focuses on converting this workflow into a single process that produces usable slides from raw input. The aim is to reduce preparation time while keeping presentations clear and ready for use.

A Workflow Built Around Content

AiPPT.com allows users to start in familiar ways. A topic can be entered directly, or files such as Word and PDF documents can be uploaded. Web content can also be converted into slides via the URL-to-PPT feature, which turns online information into structured presentations.

The system analyzes the input and builds a presentation with clear sections and logical flow. Slides are generated with formatting applied automatically, reducing manual effort.

For users looking for inspiration, AiPPT.com also provides resources such as easy presentation topics to help them get started more quickly.

From Scattered Information to Clear Communication

In academic and workplace settings, information is often spread across multiple formats. Turning this into a structured presentation can take time.

AiPPT.com simplifies this process. A report can become a meeting deck. A research paper can be turned into a seminar presentation. Startups can quickly build investor materials using the AI pitch deck generator. Educators can create structured lessons with support from tools designed for teaching, such as AI for teachers.

A Flexible System for Editing and Conversion

AiPPT.com supports full editing after generation. Users can adjust text, change slide order, or refine structure. Presentations can also be edited directly through its online PPT editor.

Users can also choose from a range of presentation templates to match different use cases. This flexibility helps users adapt presentations for classrooms, meetings, and digital sharing without rebuilding them.

About AiPPT.com

AiPPT.com is an AI-powered PPT generator focused on turning information into structured presentations. The company builds tools that connect content creation, organization, and presentation in one workflow. Its goal is to support clearer communication by helping users transform ideas and materials into ready to use slides efficiently.

Contact Information
Company Name: PIXELBLOOM PTE. LTD.
Email: support@aippt.com

Website: https://www.aippt.com/

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/aipptcom-expands-its-approach-to-turning-information-into-ready-to-use-presentations-in-india-302753879.html

Continue Reading

Trending