So... um... my boss sent me home today.

[superchunk]

I never understand how people don't use their vacation time.

My employees, well a few, have a this same issue where they are constantly up against the vacation time wall where they won't earn anymore. Basically, wasting potential free pay.

I don't ever force someone to take time off, that's why they simply can't earn anymore... a simple yet effective mechanism. However, I do talk to them and remind them that they need time away from work. You need time to enjoy life, re-balance your brain and remain healthy.

Also, as others have mentioned, its a financial risk to the company as well. Excluding the risk of losing good employees who get burned out and quit, vacation time is time you've earned and thus must be paid. Even if you leave the company, you'll get paid out for vacation time earned. So, this becomes a negative on a companies financial reports.

In short... don't be so dedicated to work that you forget to live life. Take vacations, even if you just stick around your house or town, you need that away from work time to mentally re-balance. Of course, be a responsible adult and do it so that your company is not negatively impacted, but take time off.

As someone who just got back from a 2 week vacation to Europe and is now about to head out to a weekend at Disneyland, I can tell you that vacations are entirely possible and well worth it. :)