Align Management News Digest
June 2005
Too busy to take summer holidays
THOUSANDS of white-collar and middle managerial staff do not take
their annual holidays entitlements due to fear of their bosses or
being just too busy to take time off according to a recruitment
agency survey. In the run-up to the summer vacation season some
employers or senior managers pressurise or intimidate their workers
from taking their holiday entitlements.
The responses of 652 people to an internet survey suggest Irish
people, mainly the under-40s, are working harder than ever and many
are too busy to take their full holiday entitlements or are afraid
to take them because `it's not the done thing' in their place of
employment. The Recruit Ireland.com survey showed that 28% of respondents
do not take their full holiday entitlements.
In relation to holiday leave, two-thirds are unhappy with the 20
days statutory holidays available in Ireland and consider it to
be too short. Over 60% of respondents have between 20 to 22 days
holiday entitlement; 22% have 23 to 25 days; 10% have 26 to 30 days
and over 6% of respondents have in excess of 31 days holidays per
year.
Just 27% would trade a cut in salary for additional time off work.
When asked if they took their full entitlement, almost one-third
of respondents said they do not.
Of those that do not, a significant majority (58%) said they were
`too busy at work' to take their full holidays. A further 11% said
that it was `not the done thing' in their company and 10% said it
would affect their promotional prospects to take their full holiday
entitlements.
It also seems that many employees cannot relax even when they are
on holidays. Over one-third of respondents said they brought work
related articles with them on holidays in the past. Almost half
of respondents - 47% - provided their employers with a contact facility
when they went on holidays while over one-third handled work related
phone calls.
One-fifth worry that things will go wrong in work while they are
away and 56% stated that they had thought about changing career
while on holidays.
Aoife Curtin, marketing manager of Recruit
Ireland.com said that these results make interesting reading
and show that respondents see themselves as hard working and dedicated.
However the old adage that all work and no play makes people dull,
shows that there is an opportunity for employers to cultivate a
culture where hard work is equally balanced with taking full holiday
entitlements and ensuring an appropriate work-life balance.
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