(NYTIMES) - It's August - a time for vacationing in America, and also for the tradition of lamenting how bad Americans are at vacationing. There's some truth to these laments, especially in the past few years, as the rise in remote work during the pandemic has further blurred the separation between work and personal life.

Despite most Americans' relatively paltry vacation allotments, billions of dollars' worth of paid vacation days are left unused. And when people do take time off, they struggle to relax: A 2022 survey of over 20,000 professionals found that 54 per cent said they weren't sure they could fully "unplug from work" while taking paid time off.