Walking through Resorts World at Sentosa the other day, and spending time in Penang during the Chinese New Year festive period, It is hard to believe there are vacation-deprived folks in Asia. Both places were crowded with families and groups from all over Asia, with Chinese travellers clearly leading the pack.
But it seems there are people in Asia who feel vacation-deprived.
According to Expedia’s 2017 Vacation Deprivation ® study, an annual survey of vacation habits across multiple countries and continents, Asia Pacific leads the pack as the most vacation-deprived region, with South Korea topping the list with 81 percent of full-time working adults feeling deprived of vacations.
Worldwide, vacation deprivation is on the rise, with 53 percent of full-time working adults feeling vacation-deprived in 2017, up from 49 percent in 2016.
The survey, that looks at the vacation habits of more than 15,000 working adults across 30 countries globally, ranks India as the 5th most vacation deprived country globally, just after South Korea (82%), France (66%), Malaysia (65%), and Hong Kong (64%). Findings that further corroborate this are 55% Indians take fewer days of the vacation days they get and 28% don’t take leaves as work schedule does not allow for vacation or there are not enough staff to cover.
I am rather surprised by the fact that France came in second and Japan, with a reputation for working long hours and days, was among the least vacation-deprived list at 48%. The least deprived nations were Norway, Netherlands and Ireland.
In Singapore, the study found that six in 10 Singaporeans (57 percent) feel that they are deprived of vacations, putting it among the top seven most vacation-deprived markets globally. Close to half (47 percent) of the Singaporeans surveyed take fewer days of annual leave than the amount they receive in a year, higher than the 41 percent who did so in the 2016 study.
Percentage of full-time working adults who feel vacation-deprived in 30 markets globally
I asked a Singaporean friend who works in a major corporation if she felt vacation-deprived and she said that many choose not to take long breaks for fear of losing their jobs as in “people may realise they don’t really need you”, she said.
There is an inkling of truth in this. When I was working in a proper office, versus the improper working conditions I suffer at home these days, it was hard to convince colleagues to take their holidays and some even forfeited their hard-earned annual leave.
But maybe that’s because, like me, they are working in the marketing & media industry which, along with food & beverage, are the two most vacation-deprived industries globally.
66 percent of workers in the marketing & media industry and 62 percent of workers in food & beverage industry globally agree that they are vacation-deprived, contrasting against the 47 percent and the 49 percent recorded in the two least vacation-deprived sectors – education and government – respectively.
So now you know which jobs you should go for if you want to take more holidays.
In general, younger workers around the world are more vacation-deprived than older workers with 60% of the 18-34 age group feeling they don’t get enough holidays vs 55% in the 35-49 age bracket and 39% in the 50+ segment.
And not surprisingly, urban workers feel more vacation-deprived than their suburban and rural counterparts.
So now you know what to do – go work in education or for the government, and retire to the countryside. That’s one way to cure the vacation deprivation blues.
• Featured image credit: DragonImages/iStock-Getty Images