Why New Jersey may be too tired to take vacations

This isn't a good trend to see happening across the country in the first place, but it's especially concerning for New Jersey. Although, there may also be some good in this.

Good in the sense that we're finally starting to take our PTO (personal time off). We earn the time by busting our butts at the office, so we absolutely should be rewarded with time for ourselves.

ALSO READ: Why your NJ employer should force you to use PTO

According to a recent study reported by Newsweek, around 37% of Americans are using their PTO to catch up on sleep. On the surface, this doesn't sound like such a bad thing.

Taking time off to rest is good for your mental health. Plus, it's better to use your time off to sleep rather than lose it altogether. So on that front, this is a good thing.

However, there's always a flip side to the coin. And in the case of using PTO for sleep, it's the actual reasons behind it that are troubling.

A troubling trend

The two big reasons behind the growing trend of using PTO for sleep comes down to two things. Burnout, and finances.

Burnout because we're increasingly feeling overworked. And it's at the point where we feel the only way we can catch up is to use our time off to sleep.

And finances because things are simply getting too expensive to do. We're pushing off taking vacations because the costs of literally everything are getting out of hand.

And the uncertainty of where the economy is going is also causing additional stress.

Signs for New Jersey

In a state where we already feel overworked, stressed, and financially stretched, this trend is not good for those of us in New Jersey. It's all the more reason why we need to do something about our sky high taxes.

Until then, it's perfectly OK to want to take time off to sleep. Again, the benefits here are directly related to mental health, which is a good thing. And it does help reduce the chances of burnout.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.