We're afraid to take all of our vacation time.

Let's take a look.

Ever since the recession hit, the job market has just sucked big time. And even through the economy has been slowly recovering ever since, the job market really hasn't gotten much better. In fact with talk of the so-called fiscal cliff, we've been hearing that some companies are thinking about layoffs again. Just what we need right? Whether those layoffs occur or not, just the talk of it has workers on edge all over again. People are looking over the shoulder in the office to see if the boss is headed their way with a pink slip.

So now to vacations. Many workers get at least two weeks paid vacation a year. But are they taking all of it or are they afraid to? I'm sorry to say it appears the latter might be true. Workers are so worried about being laid off, they don't take all of their vacation. Others say there's too much work to do, but that could be because they took on someone else's job who got fired earlier. Either way a lot of vacation days are being wasted.

Harris Interactive conducted a poll earlier this fall for Expedia. Nearly 9-thousand employed adults were surveyed. A lot of them said they were afraid to take vacation, given the high unemployment.

Some employers might be thinking that way, but business experts caution against that. They say employers should realize that employee vacations aren't just luxuries. They are a recharging of the employee battery, allowing them to return with renewed energy and creativity. That they say means while ghe businees might suffer in the short term, in the long run, a much better employee returns from vacation. Despite that, many feel they might get the boot for being gone so long from the office.

Workplace consulting firm Right Management also conducted a survey and this one is even more alarming. 70% of employees surveyed said they weren't taking all of their vacations they had coming last year. It's not because they can't afford them. It's because of a fear of appearing less dedicated to their employer.

In fact they say fear of being fired is killing the American vacation. But is there cause for concern? Perhaps.

Jon Delano of Carnagie Melon University says American employers begrudge vacation time and dole it out based on length of service. Only three percent of workers take four weeks off at one time. The rest usually take it a week at a time because they're afraid to take any more or the boss won't let them take any more than that at one time.

Conclusion: Fact