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2.4 million Aussies fail to take leave for over a year

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New research shows workers are experiencing burnout when going over a year without leave.

Just because we love to travel, it was easy to assume the rest of Australia were constantly researching flights, hotels and how we can squeeze just one more holiday out of our vacation days.

It seems, though, that there are some of us who manage to go a whole year without taking any leave at all.

Recent research from Booking.com revealed a shocking trend that sees the equivalent of 2.4 million full-time working Aussies have gone over a year without taking leave, with 86% of experiencing burnout as a result of not taking enough.

The survey of 1,000 working Australians looked at our annual leave habits and motivations and exposed us as a nation of workaholics as just 31% of workers use all their annual leave every year.

Overall, those with kids are more likely to take leave but over half said more leave days would give them greater flexibility to spend more time with their kids. Baby boomers were shown to have longer breaks without annual leave, up to two years on average, double the longest time Gen X and Millennials are willing to wait.

When comparing the survey results by state, South Australians are the country’s biggest workaholics, where only 19% use all of their annual leave and over a third go without for 7-12 months. Also guilty are Queenslanders (25%) and Western Australians (30%), who don’t take leave for the longest period of 1-2 years.

The states most likely to take a well-earned break are New South Wales (36%) and Victoria (34%) with the highest number of respondents always using their annual leave.

The survey uncovered a strong need for Aussie workers to take a break for their health with three in ten workers admitting to leaving work early due to exhaustion. On top of that, an equivalent of almost 1 million workers admitted to falling asleep at work.

Aussies are demanding more leave from their bosses, stating that they don’t have enough paid annual leave days. The key reasons for this desire include wanting to feel refreshed and working more effectively (56%), having enough time to de-stress and look after their health (55%) and to have more time to travel (54%).

To help address the need for using annual leave, Booking.com is encouraging Australians to make Friday 15 June 2018 "Book A Holiday Day". You can use the day to dedicate time for researching and booking a holiday or a small getaway to make sure you stay on top of your health and wellbeing.

Keen to join the revolution. Keep on our travel deals page to book your trip, take that annual leave and come back refreshed and de-stressed.


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