Monday is Presidents Day, and if you're like most Americans you are probably ready for your first holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day nearly five weeks ago.
But some of you apparently don't like spending so much time away from work and school.
A survey from Rasmussen Reports finds that 28 percent of U.S. adults say there are too many federal holidays. Only 13 percent say there aren't enough holidays, while 53 percent say the number of federal holidays is "about right."
The survey was conducted Feb. 15 and 16 as workers across the country were noticing a sudden increase in furniture ads and realizing they had a three-day weekend coming up.
While the holiday may have crept up, it should not have come as a surprise as Washington's Birthday has been a federal holiday since 1885 and has been observed on the third Monday of February since 1971. The holiday is often known as Presidents Day because it rarely falls on George Washington's actual birthday, Feb. 22.
With 10 federal holidays in most years (and sometimes 11), the U.S. is catching up to international standards, although we still lag far behind many developed countries in paid time off work. European countries typically offer a minimum of four weeks' vacation plus eight to 12 national holidays, compared with the typical one to three weeks' vacation in the U.S.
Maybe Americans just really, really like to work and hate having another day home with the family. Or maybe we feel we just can't afford the loss of productivity associated with a holiday.
Rasmussen notes that each holiday costs about $450 million in pay for federal employees and lost productivity. And the polling company says Republicans are twice as likely as Democrats -- 37 to 19 percent -- to say there are too many federal holidays.