One in five workers do not take full holidays - survey

More than one in five workers do not take their full complement of holidays, a new survey has revealed.

Most of those who do not take their full holidays said they are either too busy or because its "not the done thing" in their company.

A further 9% of respondents to the survey by Recruitireland.com indicated that taking their full holiday entitlement would be likely to affect their promotional prospects.

The survey of 800 workers was carried out to assess workers' attitudes to holiday entitlements and their working environment.

On the plus side, more than 15% of the respondents take four holidays per year. Most respondents said they opted for a two-week break and then split the remainder of their holiday entitlements through the rest of the year.

According to the survey, many workers do not fully relax even when they are on holiday. Eighty-four percent brought their work laptop with them on holiday last year. A similar number brought work-related reading material.

Some 25% of workers either phone work to check on work matters or worry that things have gone wrong at work while thy are away. However, there was one change from a similar survey last yea in that 44% of respondents intended to bring their mobile with them on holiday this year, compared to 90% last year.

Forty-three percent of respondents provide their employer with a contact phone number when on holidays and 31% take work-related calls from their boss or colleagues.

Sinead Johnson of RecruitIreland.com said: "We hear so much about the impact of stress on workers' lives and yet some workers don't take their full holiday entitlement.

"All the scientific and medical evidence tells us that workers who do take their full leave entitlement are more creative, attentive and successful in the workplace and this is what employers want."