Vacation hoarding is a relatively new term used to describe the practice of delaying, carrying over or avoiding taking, entitled paid time off.
According to research published earlier this year in The Guardian, only 35% of UK workers have actually been taking their full holiday allocation. Further data from Breathe’s 2024 Holiday Report, reveals almost a fifth of UK workers were leaving more than five days unclaimed at the end of their holiday year and 57% of employees admitted to doing work on annual leave either ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’. The same report identified only 22% of Gen Z workers (ie those aged 18 – 24 years) taking their full leave and 74% admitting to working whilst on holiday.
What causes vacation hoarding?
The CIPD has highlighted a number of likely causes including: the rising cost of living, a shortage of good leadership, the increased cost of actually going on holiday, excessive workloads, understaffing, work pressures and tight deadlines. This growing post-pandemic trend appears to be exacerbated when utilising hybrid and remote working models, where work-life boundaries can become more easily blurred and an ‘always on/always available’ culture creeps in.
Further research shows clear links between not taking enough time off work and the increased risk of fatigue-related accidents, increased stress, low engagement, decreased productivity and a higher chance of longer term illness and burnout.
What can small businesses do?
To help meet their legal and moral obligations regarding holidays, whilst remaining competitive and efficient, business can use this checklist prior to the start of this year’s summer holidays:
- Promote health and wellbeing at work by stressing the importance of taking holiday entitlements and endorsing ‘downtime’.
- Make sure all employees know and understand how to book their leave.
- Encourage employees to plan ahead before making holiday arrangements, particularly at peak times, so that requests can be scheduled and work fairly distributed or handed over.
- Respect employee’s leave and don’t expect them to answer emails and stay ‘connected’ to work while they are away.
- Track and monitor holiday bookings via HR software, or even a basic spreadsheet, to help identify possible issues and prompt a discussion to explore key reasons why leave isn’t being taken.
- Discourage people from stockpiling their leave and carrying untaken days forward into another year.
- Lead by example and make sure employees see their managers taking holiday too!
Good planning and good communication are central to establishing a healthier culture that recognises the importance of taking holidays.
Happy Holidays!