Many Canadians are foregoing their vacation entitlements because of super-busy schedules, personal commitments, and financial obligations, a new report published by Expedia.ca reported this week.
The online travel company informed that just in 2015, Canadians will have clocked up nearly 10 million unused vacation days.
According to Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation® Survey, Canadian workers are currently entitled to an average of 17 days’ vacation annually, compared to 16 days last year. However, they are only using up 15.5 of them.
Canadians take fewer vacation days than almost any country in the world.
The three most common reasons people gave for foregoing their vacation days were:
– They were too busy at work (32%).
– They were saving for either buying a house, had to pay tuition fees, paying off a debt, or some other financial obligation (29%).
– Their personal or family commitments (24%).
Canadians handing back billions to their employers
Since 2003, when the surveys began, Canadians have collectively accumulated over 350 million unused vacation days, i.e. a whopping $53 billion (CDN) in wages given back to employers.
Christopher Day, Senior Marketing Director for Expedia Canada, said:
“For the past 13 years, the survey has uncovered an undeniable trend – Canadians are not living up to our friends across the pond when it comes to taking vacation. Unsurprisingly, a staggering number of Canadians (53 per cent) continue to consider themselves vacation deprived.”
More than one million Canadian workers have not taken a vacation during the past 15 years. Over 1.4 million Canadians say they have never been on a vacation in their lives.
Beverly Beuermann-King, a stress and wellness expert who has been associated with the Survey since 2003, said:
“Over the years, we’ve noticed some recurring reasons as to why Canadians aren’t taking full advantage of their allotted vacation time. Commonly, it’s because things such as looking after family and focusing on their careers have taken priority.”
“And, while investing in our jobs and families is important, so is investing in our physical and mental wellbeing. In fact, taking time off for yourself can often result in improved relationships with others and greater productivity.”
Video – Vacation Education: Expedia Canada