More than one third of EU workers to skip holiday

Concerns about the economy and personal finances have European workers rethinking holiday plans, according to a recent survey by CareerBuilder.

It was found that 36% of employed workers in Europe reported they are not planning to take a holiday in 2009, similar to findings reported by US workers in a separate survey.

Of those not planning to take a holiday, 41% of European workers said they simply cannot afford it, while another 10% are worried about taking days away from the office in an economy where so many jobs have been lost.

For European workers who are not going on a formal holiday, but are taking days off from work, the most popular way they will be spending their time away from the office is looking for another employer.

Some 21% of workers plan to search for a job during their time away from the office. Others plan to visit with family and friends (17%), read/write (15%), catch up on sleep (11%) and do household chores (10%). Working another job and volunteering were also included in plans.

Of those workers taking a formal holiday in 2009, 58% said they will take a holiday closer to home; 31% will stay within their respective countries.

Nearly half of workers (48%) expect to spend the same amount of money on their holiday as last year, 32% will spend less than last year while 20% will spend more.