Member Article

Give me a break: more than half of holiday left untaken globally

• Data from Edays shows average employees have 55% of their holiday left in 2021 • Entertainment, Media & Arts industry sees the biggest backlog of holiday allowance with 79% globally still waiting to be taken • With less than two months left before year end, business leaders face burnout and resourcing issues

41% of employees globally have more than half (55%) of their holiday allowance still left to take before the end of the year. That’s according to global absence expert, Edays, whose data suggests that business leaders will be short-staffed in the build up to Christmas and New Year.

With 59 days left until the end of the year, employees around the world have on average 14 days left to take of annual leave. With the average holiday allowance being 26 days, employees have left more than half of their allowance (55%) for the end of the year. This comes after estimates stating there is 50% more holiday compared to 2020 due to the holiday roll over following the outbreak of the pandemic.

A major concern will be how business leaders can address burnout and resourcing. Research from Edays last month witnessed 41% of respondents state that their workplace had negatively impacted their wellbeing during the pandemic. If teams are under-resourced over the next few months then burnout will increase as they look to attempt to help with the shortfall.

The Entertainment Exodus

When looking at industry specific data, the situation for the Entertainment, Media & Arts industry also looked worrying. On average, these employees have 70% of their holiday allowance to use up before the end of the year.

With the arts badly impacted during COVID-19, businesses will be hoping to maximise profits during the festive period and build-up to New Year. For this to be possible, a well-resourced team will be vital. However, if teams are unable to take time off to relax and recover, we could see burnout in this industry rise dramatically.

Matt Jenkins, CEO at Edays commented: “With an estimated 50% more holiday allowance this year due to 2020s roll over in many industries, it is not surprising that we find ourselves in this situation. However, it is clear the increase in holiday hasn’t been managed appropriately with many organisations likely to experience challenges resourcing their team appropriately. This puts pressure on employees and can lead to burnout, but it can also damage company reputations if deadlines are missed. Now is the time to implement an absence management solution to manage the issue head on as we approach the winter months, and ensure that the situation does not persist into next year.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Edays .