Vacations in 2009–Yay or Nay?

By Karen Richardson

Canadians are feeling even more vacation-deprived this year compared to last, with 42% of working Canadians saying that they are very or somewhat vacation deprived, up from 33% in 2008. The results come from the 7th annual Expedia.ca Vacation Deprivation™ online survey, conducted by the Canadian research firm Harris/Decima earlier this year.

Nearly one-quarter of employed Canadians also report not taking all of their vacation days. Despite receiving an average of 18.7 vacation days, this year Canadians will give back an average of 2.03 days of unused vacation time to their employers. This translates into 34 million untaken days in Canada overall and about $6.03 billion (CDN) in wages handed back to employers.

“With the economic downturn and recent layoffs in many organizations, employees may be feeling unwilling to take their full vacations this year,” says Jana Raver, Assistant Professor at Queen’s School of Business, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. “They’re feeling pressure to maintain high levels of organizational productivity but with fewer staff members and/or financial resources to be able to do so. What’s more, if they’re working in an organization where they feel that layoffs may be coming soon, they may fear for their jobs and want to avoid taking vacations to avoid seeming less committed.”

This overcompensation through “presenteeism” actually increases employees’ stress levels, she says, often to the point where they become stressed and in need of stress interventions as employees who were laid off.

But is there a potential upside to the economic downturn we’ve experienced in 2009? Some argue the recession offers the potential for more work-life balance. Historian Benjamin Hunnicutt, Professor of Leisure Studies at the University of Iowa, has spent years researching the company Kellogg’s that broke the law by cutting work hours during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Kellogg’s instituted a six-hour workday in its plants due to the lack of jobs for a large number of people. “It was a win-win situation where everyone benefitted—management as well as the workers,” says Hunnicutt, “And Kellogg agreed for a long time that workers were more productive with six hours.”

When W.D. Kellogg put in the six-hour day, no one predicted this movement towards decreased work hours would stop, says Hunnicutt. “Work would no longer be the centre of life, but the centre of life would be somewhere else. That was the dream of the 19th century—of progress. Stephen Leacock, in his 1920 book, The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice, proposed the idea that this constituted progress. Leacock proposed that with more time beyond the constraints of necessity, beyond work, we would realize our full humanity. The prediction was by 1980 we would be working two hours a day. For some reason that didn’t happen–we stopped progress, and we’ve had no increase in free time since the Great Depression.”

For the many working Canadians who may be left feeling the stress of the current economy and its impact in the workplace, it’s even more important for employees to take time off and relax than in previous years. “Even if financial resources for a vacation are low, employees need to take personal time away from their stressful work conditions to replenish their psychological reserves, and to help build resilience,” says Raver. “Taking a break will help to prevent burnout, reduce ‘survivor’s guilt’ (for those in recently-downsized organizations), and help to lower anxiety while increasing positive emotions.

“Resilience against stressors requires optimism, which is difficult to maintain in today’s workplaces. However, after a few carefree days away, many employees may see their optimism naturally beginning to emerge again as the other positive emotions start to surface. Maintaining that positivity while back on the job may go a long way towards warding off stress-related harm.”

Mandatory vacations?
Part of the challenge of taking a full vacation is the organizational culture—if other employees don’t take all of their vacation days, then individuals don’t. Bayer Inc. in Toronto recently instituted a new policy this year which “requires” employees to take their time, regardless of how busy they are or what their managers might think.

Why did they institute such a policy? Despite summer hours and increased vacation time of a week in 2007, the human resources department still received feedback from employees in an employee survey that they wanted more work/life balance.

“We used to allow five days to be carried over from one year to next,” says Gord Johnston, Vice-President of Human Resources. “With the new policy, employees are not allowed to carry over their vacation days. We wanted to encourage people to use their vacation to relax, to refresh, and if they do that they will be more motivated, hard-working employees when they return.” Employees are relieved and are planning to take more vacation this year, he says, adding that the positive employee response to the policy shocked the company.

So how can vacation time realistically be added to a busy schedule? “Employees have a year to plan how they will fit in the time to take their vacation,” says Johnston. “And managers are encouraged to really accommodate the vacation requests so employees know it’s okay to make these requests. This will lead hopefully to a healthier, balanced work-life. The strength of our organization is the people—if they’re at their best, we have a better chance of succeeding,” he says.

This policy is also fully supported from the top-down, including the CEO who is required to take his vacation. Even employees who receive extra vacation due to anniversaries are required to take it. “At the end of the day it’s all very manageable if you plan it,” Johnston says, adding they have not received any negative feedback regarding the new policy.

Vacation days coast to coast
Who takes the most vacation days across the country? According to the Expedia.ca survey, Alberta residents receive the most vacation days per year (21.28), but they also give back the most days of unused vacation time compared to other provinces. Harris/Decima conducted 2,019 online surveys for Expedia.ca in late March this year.

Ontarians (47%) are the most likely to identify themselves as vacation-deprived, followed by those living in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (45%), Atlantic Canadians (43%), British Columbians (38%), Quebecers (38%) and Albertans (35%).
Residents of Alberta give back an average of 2.81 days, followed by residents of Manitoba and Saskatchewan (2.80), Atlantic Canadians (2.21), British Columbians (2.04), Ontarians (1.99) and Quebecers (1.39).

Vacation trends for 2009
Travel search site KAYAK says last year’s summer “staycation” trend may be waning. Despite the economy, 95% of the more than 4,100 participants in Kayak’s Annual Summer Travel Survey plan to take a trip this summer. More than 41% said the recession did not affect their summer plans in any way, more than double the number from Kayak’s 2008 survey.

“Thanks to an abundance of travel deals, last year’s staycation trend appears to be over as we’re seeing consumers using savvy cost-saving strategies to once again embark on a traditional summer vacation,” notes Brian Harniman, Kayak Executive Vice President of Marketing and Distribution, in a statement.

Due to low prices and deals, last year’s trend of vacationing in the backyard or close to home has subsided with a renewed wanderlust for history, culture and beaches. The most popular destinations under consideration include a major American city (65%), Europe (42%), domestic beaches (34%) and the Caribbean (20%).

KAYAK’s survey shows that people are also employing several cost-saving tactics including: crashing with friends or relatives instead of booking a hotel (62%), taking advantage of off-season pricing (50%), trading down for a less fancy hotel (42%), booking a shorter holiday (34%), choosing a destination closer to home (32%), booking accommodations with a kitchen and eating in (30%).

Volunteer vacations
Volunteer vacations are also becoming popular, such as volunteering a week, a month or a year in an overseas orphanage or school, or in community development or day care. The non-profit, Pennsylvania-based organization, A Broad View, claims a volunteer vacation can give you “a privilege not afforded to the typical tourist: a unique opportunity to experience local everyday life while making a positive impact.” Volunteering abroad “immerses you in a new culture which improves your language skills, gives insight of a culture from the inside out and hopefully broadens your view of the World.” But it does take a special kind of person and not all are suited for it, they admit. “The lack of home comforts and infrastructure that many fortunate people brought up in developed countries take for granted can be a strain for some.”

Why not vacation and volunteer on an organic farm this year? It’s a great way to learn about organic gardening and farming, to meet people and to travel around the country inexpensively. WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) have more than 800 farm hosts (and a vast array of different places) from the East Coast to the West Coast, to the Yukon and Northwest Territories. “WWOOFing / volunteering has also become a cultural exchange, besides being a helping exchange. You help four to six hours a day, roughly five-and-a-half days per week and receive accommodations, meals and an interesting experience.

The requirements for WWOOF are a basic understanding of English and the expectation you will help, learn, share and participate with whatever outside farm and garden-related chores that need to be done. Many volunteers stay one to three weeks, then move on to another host. There is no cost, and how long you stay depends upon the host’s requirements. On www.wwoof.ca, one volunteer from England recently commented. “Great time!” “Fishing, exploring the islands nearby, milking the goats, lovely people, very welcoming, great children, meditation in the evenings—I loved it!”

Article originally published in Your Workplace issue 11-4