Gallup has been digging into the link between employee well-being and productivity. Partnering with health and well-being improvement consultant Healthways, Gallup created a well-being index that it used in the leisure time survey.

In December, it released results of a survey conducted among employees of one large insurer that suggested that both turnover and employee absences were greatly reduced when employee displayed elevated senses of well-being.

In the most recent survey, its index for those who said they always make time for vacations was 68.4. The index for those who don't: 51.4.

When Gallup broke out its findings by income range, it revealed a clear trend: the lower the income, the lower the well-being index for those who regularly take vacations.

For instance, for those who earned less than $24,000, the index stood at 66.3; for those earning more than $120,000, the number was 69.5.

Not surprisingly, the wealthy also set aside time more often for vacations than do those at the lower end of the income scale. Two-thirds of those raking in $120,000-plus said they always take time off for vacations; just one-third of those at the other end said they did. Overall, 49 percent of Americans told Gallup they regularly schedule vacations.

Read: Americans lose billions in benefits by not taking PTO

Other findings from the survey:

• Asians (55 percent) and whites (52 percent) are most likely to agree that they regularly take vacations, while the figures are lower for African Americans (44 percent) and Hispanics (42 percent).
• A majority (57 percent) of Americans over age 65, compared with less than half of those aged 18-29 (47 percent), 30-44 (46 percent), and 45-64 (49 percent), make time for regular trips or vacations.
• Slightly less than half (47 percent) of Americans with children under age 18 in their households regularly make time for vacations or trips, a bit lower than the 51 percent found among those who don't have children in their homes.
• Married Americans (56 percent) are most likely to take vacations with friends and family, followed by widowers (47 percent), single folks (43 percent), and those with a domestic partner (43 percent). People who are divorced (37 percent) or separated (30 percent) are least likely to regularly take such trips.

"This research showing a link between taking vacations and well-being suggests that employers may benefit from encouraging their workers to make time for regular trips," Gallup concluded.

"Higher well-being predicts key business outcomes such as lower absenteeism and turnover, as well as fewer workplace safety incidents. Employers may want to arrange for workers to take paid time off, plan regular company outings that are open to family and friends, and foster a culture that makes it acceptable to take time off for vacation."