It seems that Indians are letting their hard-earned vacations go to waste. While we are busy making a living, we are somewhere forgetting to live and this survey by Expedia reinforces that fact.
It states that India is the most vacation-deprived country in the world.
Last year too, India was the fifth most vacation-deprived country in the world. And this year it has only worsened with 75% of the Indians saying that they were not able to go for a vacation.
This is the highest in the world and also significantly more than last year’s 60%.
Poor work-life balance has been one of the major causes behind this trend, according to the survey. Nearly 41% Indians wished to go on a vacation but haven’t been on a holiday in the last six months due to workload. Only 3% took a vacation every month.
The survey covered 19 countries across the world surveying over 11,000 employed adults above 18 years of age.
It also came up that as much as 16% Indians preferred to save on their vacations to go on a long holiday. They end up wasting their vacation days in the end. On an average, Indians availed just 15 of the 20 vacation days received.
What do they save their vacations for? Nearly 31% Indians said that they do not use their vacation days because they can get money in exchange of the unused days.
Here, 46% women especially save their vacations for ‘future emergencies’. Women also feel guilty for taking a vacation.
Even when on a break, Indians are not able to disconnect with their work life. One-third Indians said that they were expected to be available to their colleagues, juniors, or supervisors during holidays.
As much as 64% Indians decide the length of their vacation based on the impending work they will have to do when they return from holiday.
It’s high time we seek a balance between our personal and professional lives and start appreciating the vacations we get at work.
Feature image source: ZDNet
