Annual global holiday survey shows Australians are more holiday deprived than ever

For the second year in a row, Australians have been revealed as the worst in the world among the countries surveyed in both 2007 and 2008 at taking all their entitled annual leave.

Australians clearly need to take more holidays in light of the results of the Expedia, Inc. annual global Vacation Deprivation™ survey, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Expedia, the world’s leading online travel company.

This dismal track record also raises continued concerns among Australia psychologists about the mental and social impacts of holiday deprivation on the Australian population.

Toughening economic times featured high on the list of reasons deterring Australians from taking all their leave, with more than a quarter (26%) of Australians citing financial pressures.

Asked specifically whether the credit crunch and higher interest rates had affected their holiday plans for 2008, 32% responded in the affirmative.

It appears that an addiction to work is another culprit deterring Australians from taking their full annual leave entitlement, with more than a third of respondents (34%) citing work commitments being too great to take a break.

In a further sign of Australians becoming workaholics, more than one in ten Australians (11%) said they felt guilty taking time off work for a holiday, while 7% feared for their job security if they took a break and 5% saying they suffered from ‘work anxiety’ when taking a holiday.

Even when Australians took time off from work, almost two-thirds said they remained contactable with their work while on holiday (62%), with a whopping 57% being contactable by work or the office via their mobile phone, and 41% keeping an eye on their work emails while on holiday.

This year’s survey found that 38% of Australians do not take all of their allocated annual leave days, making them once again the worst among the same countries also surveyed in last year’s study (USA, UK, Spain, Germany, France and Australia) at taking all their holiday entitlements.

To make matters worse, Australians also receive the second lowest amount of annual leave in the world (18 days) after the Americans, who receive a paltry 14 days.

On average, Australians left around three days of their total annual leave entitlement on the table in the last year. Currently 31% of Australians take holidays less than once a year and 13% take holidays less than every five years.

Dr Ben Searle, Organisational Psychologist at Macquarie University, said, “People should recognise that holidays are an important part of maintaining a happy family life and good work productivity, rather than believing them to be a mere luxury.”

“Working for extended periods without taking time off to recharge can affect health and relationships, and in extreme cases has been linked to premature deaths.”

Arthur Hoffman, Managing Director of Expedia.com.au said, “The survey results certainly confirm that the notion of Australians being laid back and holiday- rich is most definitely a thing of the past. In fact this year’s survey reveals that Australians are becoming even worse at taking a holiday.”

“I hope the results of this survey encourage Australians to take more holidays in line with the rest of the world. With the internet, it is now easier and quicker than ever to book a holiday or short break,” Hoffman concluded.

In the global survey, Expedia found that the French are the world’s most holiday-rich nation, receiving on average twice as much holiday allowance as Australians, with 37 days a year.

The French also take the most leave each year, on average leaving just three days of their total annual entitlement untaken.

The Germans are also holiday lovers with 81% of working adults leaving no annual leave days unused.

There were three newcomers to this year’s annual global Vacation Deprivation survey, with the Netherlands, Italy and Austria all indicating a strong tendency not to take their full annual leave entitlements (49%, 47% and 41% respectively).

However, these countries rank well in regard to the number of annual leave entitlement, with the Italians receiving a generous 33 days, the Dutch 28 and the Austrians 28 days.

by The Mole