ArcaMax

If you still feel too guilty to get away, consider that, according to the U.S. Travel Association, those unused days cost the U.S. economy $160 billion in spending that could support 1.2 million jobs.

If your boss grumbles about the "extra work" your absence will cause, remind her how many innovative ideas you'll come back with. Denis noted that some of the greatest recent success stories have been products of vacation thinking, including Dropbox and Instagram.

Point to what MasterCard is doing. After all, said Executive Vice President Susan Kunreuther, they couldn't launch an advertising campaign to encourage Americans to take vacations while their own people weren't taking the time they were owed -- often leaving more than four days on the table.

Now MasterCard employees get reminder emails of what vacation time they have left (sent to bosses, as well) and there are incentive contests with vacation experiences as prizes. Managers, Kunreuther said, are being encouraged "to leave folks alone" during vacation and weekends.

The strategy is working. During the four months following the campaign (September to December 2014) employees, in total, took almost 1,500 more days than they had the previous year but Kunreuther added, "We have a long way to go."

So where are you going on vacation?

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow "taking the kids" on www.twitter.com, where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.)

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