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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Our vacations can bring us to some of the most breathtaking locations in the world, but you have to be present to take it all in!

A local psychology professor tells Atlanta News First he’s encouraging people to leave work at home when taking time off.

Endless emails, phones that never stop ringing, texts to respond to – work can be relentless. You need a break!

Cue your vacation. These are the days or weeks (if you’re lucky) where you get to exist without the stresses of work, where you get to focus on having fun with the people you love. But new research shows nearly half of Americans don’t plan on using all their time off this year. And according to a psychology professor and Psychology Department chair at Georgia Gwinnett College, some people will take their work with them while on vacation.

“They do what is called ‘work vacations,’” Dr. David Ludden said. “They bring the laptop with them to the beach, and there they are sitting on the beach and typing away frantically at their laptop. They are answering emails, doing spreadsheets and so on. You are still working.”

He says part of the responsibility is on individuals.

“We kind of intuitively know when you face a problem and get stuck, you can walk away from it for a while, and when you come back you are refreshed and you have a solution,” Ludden said. “When you take some time away from work and come back again, you are going to be refreshed and have new perspectives.”

And part of the responsibility is on corporations.

“Employers should actually push their employees to take vacations, which they often don’t, but they should because studies show that when people come back from vacation, they are refreshed, energized, they have a more positive attitude toward their work,” Ludden said. “You can actually get more productive employees if you encourage them to take breaks, take vacations.”

He says work will be there when you return from your adventures.

“Work shouldn’t be your whole life,” Ludden said. “For too many people, they define themselves by their job – ‘I am whatever my job is.’ And that is really not healthy, because there are other things that are in your life, and what if you lose your job or eventually retire? Then all the sudden you have lost you sense of identity.”