Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona surveyed a few thousand people in Arizona recently to ask them about their health. No surprise, people feel stressed.

Here’s one possible reason: Only 60 percent of people in Pima County used their vacation benefits at work last year. And can you believe 17 percent of people in Arizona didn’t take any vacation days at all.

I know how this happens. When I was a recent college grad, I think it was two years before I took an actual vacation day. Now, I schedule a Friday off, then end up working 40 hours in 4 days sometimes. So at the end of last year, I still had a week’s worth of vacation benefits. My boss was nice enough to let me use it all at once, just so I got my full benefit.

I’d really like to hear your stories about your vacation benefits. Does your workplace has a “use it or lose it” policy? Do you roll over vacation time and have a huge pool of unused time? Do you find it impossible to take a day off? Please comment below or shoot me an e-mail at bpallack@azstarnet.com.