Four in 10 Americans say they haven’t had a vacation in the past two years, according to a recently released survey commissioned by Mondial Assistance.

An international travel insurance and assistance provider that has its U.S. headquarters in Henrico County. That is up 6 percentage points from the same survey conducted last year.

A vacation is defined as leisure travel of a week or more to a destination at least 100 miles from home, according to the survey.

Those in lower income brackets are not as confident about taking a vacation this year, the survey found. Vacations are vital for those who work full time, with three-quarters reporting vacation time as a much-needed benefit of a job, the survey said.

Workers who take vacations are less likely to burn out, said Ron Humphrey, a professor of management at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“It is in the best interest of an organization for employees to take vacation. Organizations that offer great vacation benefits have employees that are less stressed out and are motivated,“ Humphrey said.

Mondial’s Access America Vacation Confidence Index asked 1,000 American adults how confident they felt about the prospect of going on vacation this year. Mondial conducts the survey twice a year – during the summer and winter holiday seasons.

Americans making more than $75,000 annually were most likely to say they were confident that they would take a vacation if they hadn’t already. Those whose family income was under $25,000 annually were least confident.

Taking vacations are important to Americans, with 33 percent saying vacations are very important.

“There are a lot of people who haven’t had a vacation in two years, but they still think its important,“ said Daniel Durazo, director of communications for Mondial Assistance.

Vacations also can help with the health of a worker, Humphrey said. “A number of studies show employees who take vacations are less likely to have a heart attack. So vacations are a less expensive way to maintain employee health,“ he said.

Many employers in the Richmond area recognize the importance of allowing their employees time away. For instance, Humphrey said Capital One has rented out Kings Dominion — the park is closed on that day to other patrons — to give their employees a short staycation. The survey found that people who are taking vacations are keeping it simple with destinations that are places you can drive to, such as beaches and mountains.