For the majority of workers, annual leave is a welcome relief from the routine of employment. Many use their time off to visit foreign countries, catch up with friends or simply relax in front of the television, knowing that their hard work has allowed them to have a few days to themselves.
Yet in the past year, with anxieties mounting about the stability of jobs, more than a million workers chose not to take advantage of their full holiday entitlement, preferring to demonstrate their dedication to their jobs by showing up consistently. However, in a report by TravelSupermarket, it has been revealed that this is not an anomaly of 2012, as a large percentage of employees miss out on up to five days of holiday time every year.
Staff are sacrificing leave to remain in the office
In all, unused holiday entitlement adds up to around £500 million of unpaid work for the nation’s employers, which can add up to 2 per cent to the national economic output total. In a time of recession, this was particularly useful as it helped to boost Britain’s ailing economy and set a precedent for recovery.
According to TravelSupermarket, the amount of annual leave not taken by UK employees adds up to a staggering 6.2 million days – or, in other words, means that the average worker fails to take five days of legally entitled holiday per annum.
TravelSupermarket uncovered a number of reasons for this in the study, which polled 2020 people on their annual leave habits. A quarter of participants, for example, had too much on at work to justify taking time off, while nine per cent were concerned about the amount of work their colleagues would be left with should they abandon the office for a few days.
Three per cent were worried about missing business events or juicy office gossip while they were away, indicating that they wished to remain in the loop even whilst away from work.
However, a more concerning statistic was also revealed by the survey – a further three per cent were concerned that, should they take their full legal entitlement of annual leave, their reputation in the eyes of their boss would be tarnished. With the recent recession, which threw many well-known companies into administration, it is hardly surprising that many members of Britain’s workforce wish to appear available to their employer at all times, yet should this remain a factor in the future it may be a concern.
Annual leave is a legal entitlement designed to prevent workers from becoming too stressed or burnt out by their job. It is highly recommended that employees take some time to relax, especially as mental issues such as stress and nervous breakdowns continue to rise in the UK. Should more and more employees fail to take annual leave in the coming years there is a risk that the mental health figures pertaining to workplace stress and anxiety will also increase.
Capital Economics’ chief UK economist, Vicky Redwood, points out workers failing to take their full annual leave could well have a negative effect on the economy rather than a positive one.
She says; “Given that there are about 250 working days in a year, getting an extra five ‘free’ days of work out of their employees could in theory boost the output of the economy by about two per cent.
“That said, if workers are less productive as a result of not getting enough of a break from work, taking all of their annual leave could perversely end up boosting output in the economy.”
A number of reports of a similar vein have been released in the past year, many dealing with employees failing to take their full lunch hour or remaining in their place of work after hours on a regular basis. It has never been more important that workers manage to strike the balance between work and play, especially now that the jobs crisis has receded somewhat and Britain is now out of recession.
Travel expert Bob Atkinson of TravelSupermarket suggests that the reason so many fail to take annual leave is because they have no idea how to make the most of their time off.
He says; “Despite having so much annual leave left, many of us still have no idea how to make best use of the time.
“Splitting these days up can be a great way to make the most of your weekends by extending them, meaning weekend breaks to Europe or the Mediterranean for shopping aren’t hampered by being tired at work on Monday morning.
“Alternatively you could head off for a week long winter warming break to Orlando or Gran Canaria to re-charge your batteries as there are plenty of deals to be found.”
Do you tend to use up all of your annual leave, or like so many of the survey’s participants do you feel that you should be spending as much time at the office as possible? Would you prefer to split your annual leave into small long-weekend portions as Mr Atkinson suggests, or do you like booking two weeks or more off at one time to allow you to travel?
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