MORE than a quarter of the travel industry don’t take
their full annual leave, with workers blaming staff shortages and
increasing job pressures for impacting on their time off.
More than 30% of respondents in a Travel Weekly survey said they
take less holiday than five years ago, with 28% missing out on
their full allocation. Of those who fail to take all their holiday
time, 32% said they lose five to seven days a year. A quarter said
they lose out on upwards of eight days, with 8% claiming they lose
16 or more days.
Over half of respondents find it harder to take full holiday
entitlement than five years ago, while 67% said they are expected
to work longer hours than five years ago.
One shop manager for a multiple retail chain described his stress
levels as “sky high” and said he is losing out on five
to six days’ annual leave due to overwork and staff
shortages.
Stress expert, Lancaster University professor Cary Cooper, said our
results reflected the workforce issue of
“presenteeism”, where employees feel they can’t
take holidays.
“It’s part of the changing nature of work where people
are insecure about their job, overloaded with work and worried it
will accumulate while they are away. People need a break.”