Aussie workers are hoarding their annual leave, with no urgency to use it 

According to a new report, Aussie employees are hoarding their annual leave, exerting added pressure on both themselves and the workplace.

The latest ELMO Employee Sentiment Index (ESI) report has revealed that despite Aussie workers being cut off from taking overseas holidays during the pandemic, the urgency to get overseas has failed to increase, with workers not prioritising their leave.

According to the report, older employees, such as Baby Boomers and Gen X, have larger balances (19.9 days and 20.3 days, respectively), while their younger colleagues are sitting at 14.9 days (Millennials) and 8.8 (Gen Z) days.

There were a number of differentiating barriers listed as to why workers weren’t using their acquired leave, with 21 per cent stating they were too busy at work and 18 per cent stating that they simply couldn’t afford to go away on holiday.

Along with the current economic climate, job security was listed as a contributing factor to employee’s mindsets, with 29 per cent of surveyed workers anticipating redundancies in the next quarter and 38 per cent feeling they need to work longer and harder to ensure that their jobs are safe.

“Leave is not the first thing that comes to mind when you consider productivity in the workplace; however, taking annual leave can be a powerful driver of individual performance. By taking planned time away from the demands of work, employees return feeling rested, energised and more engaged, which helps to improve focus and productivity,” said ELMO Software’s CEO Joseph Lyons.

“Excess annual leave accrual is also a serious financial burden for businesses, with untaken leave recorded as a liability on the balance sheet, not to mention the staggering costs of leave loading.

“We’re seeing this across our customer base, with a total balance of annual leave hours sitting at over 13 million.”

The report also revealed that 43 per cent of employees feel burnt out, and 43 per cent report that their workload has increased this quarter, driving home the importance of taking a well-earned and deserved break.

Burnout was also cited at a higher rate by Gen Z workers, who are feeling the pressure more than their older colleagues at 52 per cent.

“The holiday season is the perfect time of year to encourage staff to take an extended break, maximising their leave with the additional public holidays.

“The end of year is generally a quieter period in the business community across ANZ, giving our people an uninterrupted and well-earned break.

“With workers feeling burnt out dealing with increased workloads, taking a break to spend time with family and friends has never been more important. They can start the year feeling fresh and ready to hit the ground running,” said Lyons.

Kace O'Neill

Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.