How often do you find yourself working harder and harder, wishing you could fly off somewhere interesting and new, only to forego taking your full holiday leave in order to continue working?
According to a survey by Expedia, those of us who live in the Asia-Pacific region are more likely to find ourselves in this situation than workers in other parts of the world.
Are we depriving ourselves of holidays?
Packing our bags and jet setting off on an all-inclusive holiday, be it international or domestic, is a great way to escape normalcy and relax. The problem is, many of us here in the south-eastern portions of the planet aren’t using up the vacation days offered by our employers.
According to Expedia’s annual Vacation Deprivation survey, Australians are offered an average of 20 days of leave, but only take 15. New Zealanders are the same, while Singaporeans are offered 14, but only take 11.
You might be thinking to yourself, “Hey, that doesn’t sound so bad … 15 days is still a pretty great holiday!” And we say – absolutely! You can have all sorts of fun in 15 days, but here’s something to think about:
Europeans earn an average of 28 vacation days per year. For those in Denmark, France, Germany and Spain this number is even higher, with a whopping 30 days! The respondents from these countries told Expedia that they use up all 30, meaning they take twice the number of holidays we do. This result is fairly representative of Europe generally, with most of its countries stating they only leave one or two vacation days unused per year.
So what are you waiting for? It’s time you made the most of that precious holiday time by utilising your annual leave to the fullest. Get out there, create some amazing memories, and come back to work relaxed and reinvigorated.
It’s your life.
Make it happen.
