Survey finds average of 2.43 days of unused holiday
More than one-quarter (29 per cent) of Canadians are not taking all of their vacation time (up from 21 per cent last year) and one-third identify themselves as “vacation deprived” (up from 31 per cent last year).
Employees give back an average of 2.43 days (up from 2.06 last year) of unused vacation time to their employers, according to an Expedia.ca survey. This translates into nearly 41 million untaken days in Canada overall and $6.3 billion in wages handed back to employers.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult for Canadians to break away and enjoy a real vacation, given the popularity of electronic devices like Blackberrys and feelings of vacation guilt brought on by some employers or colleagues,” says Beverly Beuermann-King, a stress and wellness expert.
Two in 10 Canadians (18 per cent) believe their employer does not offer a fair vacation policy. The survey found 21 per cent of employees feel a mandatory policy to take a minimum number of vacation days per year would help. Employers can also motivate them to take vacation time by lightening their work load (17 per cent), encouraging them to take time off (17 per cent) and offering a fair vacation policy (14 per cent).
Additionally, Canadian workers may find it stressful to take vacations — 31 per cent feel guilty about taking time off and 25 per cent say their employer does not encourage them to take all of their vacation time.
When asked if technological advances such as Blackberrys, PDAs, Pocket PCs, webmail or cell phones make it easier to take vacations, 48 per cent of Canadian workers feel technological advances have made it more difficult to get away from work, up from 41 per cent last year. Only 19 per cent feel the devices make it easier. Men (22 per cent) are also more likely than women (15 per cent) to feel it is easier to get away from the office with electronic devices.
Vacation deprivation can lead to “vacation envy” — feelings of jealousy when a co-worker or friend returns from vacation. The online survey of 2,032 people revealed 42 per cent of Canadians admit they have felt this envy at some point in their life. Some are more susceptible to envy — women (48 per cent) are more likely than men (35 per cent) and younger employees aged 18 to 34 (59 per cent) are twice as likely to have suffered from vacation envy compared to those
