A new report from Expedia shows that nearly two-thirds of employees around the world are “vacation deprived.”
However, the report shows that this feeling is strongest in cultures that take the most time off.
According to Expedia’s “Vacation Deprivation Report” released on June 20, some 84% of Germans and 69% of French respondents said they felt they did not take enough vacations. (27 days) and 29 days respectively in the survey.
The survey of more than 11,500 workers showed that Americans take the fewest vacation days per year (11 days), followed by Japan (12 days). However, the survey showed that only 53% of Japanese said they felt “deprived of their vacation,” compared with 65% of Americans.
The survey – Expedia’s 24th annual report on the subject – shows that while vacation deprivation rates have declined in many parts of the world, they are at an 11-year high in the United States.
What happened to France and Germany?
Expedia’s report suggests that feelings of “vacation deprivation” have less to do with actual time off and more to do with cultural mores around work and free time.
“The vast majority of French people view taking time off as a basic right, while Americans seem to view taking time off as a guilty pleasure,” said Christie Hudson, director of U.S. public relations for Expedia. “Here’s why For ordinary French workers, a month seems not enough.”
Among Germans, however, only 42% said they felt their employer supported their furlough, the lowest share of any market, Hudson said.
“This can lead to feelings of guilt that prevent you from breaking free and feeling refreshed after the holidays,” she says, adding that “vacation deprivation” can come from feeling unable to take advantage of the holidays.
wasted vacation
While the majority of employees said they felt deprived of their time off, respondents in almost every region admitted they were giving up some of their annual leave.
However, the report shows that Hong Kong people plan their holidays carefully and on average do not have an idle day. Interestingly, Hong Kong was the only place where employees said they planned to take more time off than required, Hudson said.
“By 2024, 15% of Hong Kong people plan to take 31 days off, more than the average distribution of 25.5 days,” said Hudson. “This is an interesting finding and may have something to do with the fact that they appear to have a strong pro-PTO culture: 80 % of Hong Kong workers agree that their employers support employees taking time off, the highest rate in the world.”
She said that could mean “extra days here and there that are being ignored.”
Singaporeans also plan their time off carefully, allowing only one of the 20 days of annual leave to lapse, the report said.
But research shows that Japanese people aren’t that focused on maximizing their vacation time. Respondents there had an average of 7 days left out of 19.
One big breakthrough and many small breakthroughs
The report said that although Japanese respondents only took 12 days off per year, they felt the lowest level of “vacation deprivation”.
According to the report, this may be related to how the Japanese plan and spend their rest days.
According to Expedia’s report, nearly one-third of employees in Japan take one day off per month, compared with only 5% in the United States.
“In Japan, people take vacations every month instead of twice a year,” said Melanie Fish, head of brand public relations for Expedia Group.
Many people schedule these short breaks around federal and school holidays to take a quick and frequent break from their daily lives, the report said.
According to reports, the French have adopted a similar strategy, spreading their days throughout the year.
Americans, on the other hand, tend to save time for big annual trips, which is why they tend to allow some annual leave to go unused.
“For impoverished American travelers, taking the stress out of a big annual trip can save time, money and PTO,” the report states.
According to the report, more than half of Americans who reserved some vacation time in 2023 said this was because “life is too busy to plan or go on vacation.”
Additionally, Americans do not prioritize rest and relaxation during travel as much as people in other countries, the report said. According to Expedia’s report, only 61% said they did so, “and it was the first goal for 84% of Japanese tourists.”
