Indians are one of the most vacation-deprived nations in the world, according to a new study by travel portal Expedia.
In 2018 vacation deprivation has grown to encompass 19 countries. The survey covered 11,144 employed adults aged 18 and older in September 2018 and was done by Northstar. On an average India received 20 days of vacation this year, 5 of which remain unused.
The survey notes that almost 75 percent of Indians have been deprived of vacations, owing to work pressure, saving up for a long holiday, not being able to afford a holiday and so on.
About a third of Indian employees have told of going six months to a year without any holiday and up to 41 percent have informed of taking one and 10 days leaves this year, while only 3 percent have stated that they take leave every month.
Along with work pressure and monetary issues, there are several other reasons for which Indians have said vacations are hard to take, some of which include fear of not being seen as a person committed to work, missing out from important work decisions and in some cases, respondents have said successful people do not take vacations at all.
Globally, 58 percent of workers have described themselves as very or somewhat vacation deprived, an increase from 53 percent in 2017 and 49 percent in 2016.
In the 2017 survey, India was ranked the fifth most vacation deprived country globally, just after South Korea (82 percent), France (66 percent), Malaysia (65 percent), and Hong Kong (64 percent).
Manmeet Ahluwalia, Marketing Head of Expedia in India said in the 2017 report, “It is very important to inculcate an organizational culture that promotes healthy work-life balance through timely vacations. While technology helps us leave the office on time, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are disconnected from work. As per our study this year- on a one-week vacation, 37% Indians would check their work email/voicemail more than once per day (third globally) and 21 percent check once per day (second globally). It is no surprise that 48 percent of Indians feel the happiest during a vacation when they disconnect from work, even though the figures have dropped from 53 percent last year.”
According to Ahluwalia, “A good vacation and disconnecting from work at least once or twice a year is crucial in rejuvenating not just the body, but the mind. 55 percent of Indians feel that being vacation deprived results in decreased productivity at work while 64 percent are more focused once back from vacation. 34 percent of Indians are even willing to take a cut in their salary for extra vacation days.”