As a member of Gen Y, it's been interesting seeing younger generations take on habits I've been doing for years. A few years ago I took a couple weeks to take a road trip across the country, after quitting one job and acquiring a start date for a new one (to start after I returned.) I've been doing this because vacations in the US of 2 or more weeks are impossible to get in many jobs.
For the situation above, I had planned a vacation for the first job - I requested it nearly two months early. Then a few days before I was set to go (after I'd already booked a place to stay), my boss attempted to deny my time off. Thankfully, HR put their foot down and I was able to go, but it was the last straw for me. So when I got a new job, I planned out time to enjoy for myself before returning to the rat race.
Workers are human. We need a break sometimes. If companies aren't going to respect that basic human need, we're going to find ways to reclaim our time.