11% of Aussie workers didn’t take annual leave last year: Three tips to make your employees take their holidays

More than half of Australian workers feel deprived of adequate holiday time, according to research released today by travel provider Expedia.

Expedia’s global Vacation Depravation Report, found 53% of Australian workers said they feel “vacation deprived” but that compares to 73% of workers in the United Arab Emirates, 72% of workers in Malaysia and 69% of workers in Thailand feeling deprived of holidays.

The study surveyed 7885 adult workers in 24 countries in North America, Europe, South America and the Asia-Pacific, including 400 adult Australian workers.

The average Australian worker has five days of annual leave owing to them, while 2.5 million or 11% of Australian workers do not take any annual leave. This compares to a global average of 4%.

Twenty-one percent of Australian workers said they felt unable to take annual leave because of work commitments but Australians are less likely than international workers to cancel holidays as a result of work commitments, with 34% admitting to cancelling travel plans compared to the global average of 50%.

What’s more, 9% of Australian workers said they are too worried to take a day off because they fear important work decisions will be made without them.

The research also found many Australian workers continue to check work emails and voice messages while on holiday, with 25% indicating they will check their messages once or twice a day. One in 10 workers said they check their messages three or four times a day.

Martin Nally, managing director of HR Anywhere, told SmartCompany there is often a difference between generations of workers in how they view their annual leave. While older generations will usually opt to take leave on a regular basis, Nally says there is a growing tendency for younger workers to “bank their leave” to use for extended holidays.

Nally also questioned the validity of comparing the annual leave practices of Australian workers and companies with those in other countries, as he says Australian workers are generally granted more days in leave than workers in some countries like the United States.

“You could argue that we take more holidays in Australia as we get more leave anyway,” he says.

For employers wanting to better manage their employees taking leave, Nally has three tips:

1. Promote flexibility

“A degree of flexibility is critical,” says Nally, who says some of his clients opt to close down their office over the Christmas and New Year period to give all workers a break.

“Obviously that can’t happen in every business but you have to be flexible.”

Nally believes Australia should become a nation that allows workers to take days off “here and there” and encourage workers to take “long weekends”.

2. Give your workers a say

Nally says employers who give their workers a say in when they take their annual leave will also be more successful in managing this aspect of their business.

“The clash of generations also creates a situation where there is conflict over who grants the leave,” he says.

“Empower your employees by asking them to schedule their leave as well … there is a degree of trust there and people take responsibility.”

3. Plan for the future

At the end of the day, Nally says managing your staff’s annual leave is a matter of planning.

“Sit down with your employees a year out and say, ‘what do you reckon?’” says Nally.

He says at any one time, you can expect around 10% of your workforce to be on leave. It’s a matter of planning when that leave happens.

“There’s a business imperative to do this as not taking leave can be costly for a nation and a business, especially if there is a salary increase and leave has to be paid out at a higher level.”

“It’s an added incentive to manage it well.”