Wednesday 8 January 2014

Media Release

Kiwis leaving millions of annual leave days unused

Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation Report reveals the beach is just a sandy office for Kiwis

•          New Zealanders abandoning nearly a week of annual leave
•          Vacationing Kiwis urged to ‘unplug’ from work in 2014
•          French lead world in vacations taken, Japanese most vacation deprived

As the holiday period comes to an end and the new work year begins, Kiwis need to reconsider their attitude toward work-life balance after the annual Expedia Vacation Deprivation Reportrevealed, on average, Kiwi employees left four of their annual leave days unused in 2013.

Expedia’s annual Vacation Deprivation Report polled 8,535 employed adults across 24 countries.

The top reasons Kiwis claim for not taking the average of 21 days leave include stockpiling leave for potential future trips, affordability and difficulty coordinating holidays with family and/or friends. Over half (52%) of Kiwis polled are feeling vacation deprived, behind the global average of 62%.

This is in stark contrast to other nations – particularly the French and Brazilians – who both use all of their allocated annual leave days. Despite taking all of their holidays, 90% of employed French adults still claim to feel vacation deprived, more than any other country.

Japan, for the fifth consecutive year, was the most vacation deprived nation, with employed adults taking an average of only seven days annual leave out of a possible 18.

“No one retires wishing they’d spent more time at their desk. The New Year is a fresh start and a chance to reconsider our attitude toward work-life balance.

“Not only are holidays beneficial for our personal life, but rested employees are more productive employees, so companies should be actively encouraging their staff to take regular vacations. You can’t over holiday!” said Kelly Cull, Expedia travel expert.

Other findings from Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation Report include:

Who feels vacation deprived?
•          More than half (52%) of employed New Zealand adults say they feel vacation deprived, below the global average of 62%
•          Norwegians are the least likely to complain they don’t get enough holidays, with only 17% saying they feel vacation deprived

Vacation time received and taken
•          Employees in Austria, France, UK, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Hong Kong and Brazil take all of their allocated vacation days; Japanese workers take less than half
•          Globally, workers miss out on five days’ vacation on average, citing reasons such as affordability, trouble coordinating friends or family and accumulating leave

Unplugging from work
•          Almost three quarters (73%) of Kiwis check their work email and voicemail while on holiday, only slightly behind the global average of 76%
•          65% of employees globally say their boss is supportive of them taking holidays. Norwegians lead the global pack at 88%, while 76% of Kiwis agree

When do we feel relaxed?
•          More than half (55%) of Kiwi holidaymakers feel they can leave work behind and relax as soon as they depart for vacation, compared to only 48% of people globally
•          Almost 1 in 5 Japanese employees (18%) are never able to leave their work behind and fully relax while on vacation, up on the global average of 10%. Less than one in ten (8%) of Kiwis say they feel this way

Work in the way?
•          Indian workers are the most likely (74%) to cancel or postpone a vacation due to work, compared to 43% of global respondents. Around a third (36%) of Kiwis have reported doing so.

ENDS

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