Matt Hewson
New research shows that nearly half of Australians have more than 20 days annual leave owing and a third haven’t had a holiday in over a year.
Recent data from employment marketplace Seek suggest that Australian workers are sitting on roughly $65 billion in unused annual leave, with one in 30 unable to recall when their last holiday was.
For Geelong resident Cameron, who works in the construction industry as a cost planning expert, it’s not a matter of choice or even a result of pressure from higher-ups; it’s just the way it is.
“Typically in construction you’d get a break at Christmas, but the last three or four years clients have expected us to run over that period,” Cameron said.
“So we haven’t really had that automatic shutdown we used to have, and that means you just keep accruing leave.
“We sort of get support from the business to try to make sure it’s used. Their argument is, you’ve just got to schedule it in.
“But that’s easier said than done, and all of a sudden, you’ve ended up with 15 weeks of annual leave.”
Cameron said over three years without a real holiday was beginning to take its toll.
“It’s gotten to the point where I just need to shut down,” he said.
“In general I feel sort of disconnected, and just desperate for a break.
“Part of my issue is that sitting at home at night, I’ll turn off my notifications, but I’ll still invariably click the message button to check.
“Then I’ll see the emails and it’ll destroy my night. There will be 15 emails and three of them will be an issue tomorrow; I shouldn’t have even looked at them.”
Seek psychologist Sabina Read said holidays were an important part of maintaining our ability to stay both healthy and productive.
“We aren’t limitless vessels, we can’t continue to add more to our loads without taking something away,” she said.
“A holiday from work can be just the tonic to help balance our mind, body and soul.”
Cameron has reached the same realisation, having planned a three-month holiday with his wife starting this Christmas.
“We’ve got a bit planned, we’ll go overseas and also do bits and pieces around the house,” he said.
“It’ll be nice to shut off completely. I’m already planning how to de-link myself from work during that period.
“Having been starved for a break for such a long period I just really want to completely detach myself.”
