According to Expedia’s 2012 Vacation Deprivation Survey, Malaysia holds the title of the world’s fourth most dedicated workforce, after India, Brazil and Italy.
It seems that Malaysian employees can’t seem to “let go” of their work during vacations with almost 90% of the workforce working even when they are on holiday.
Vacation-deprived Malaysia
The survey showed that Asia was one of the world’s most “vacation-deprived” region, with Asians taking the least number of holidays and clocking-in the most number of hours per week.
It shows that Malaysians spent about 40 hours a week at work but only receive an average of 14 days of annual leave, among the lowest in the world.
However, despite the limited number of days employees can take off, Malaysians did not use about 7% of their leave.
Reasons for not vacationing
The main reasons being the option of carrying-forward their leave to the next calendar year, as well as being unable to coordinate travel dates with their travel partners.
It was cited that 40% of the respondents said they were reluctant to go on vacation because they feared their bosses would not be happy about it.
Around 15% were worried that going on holiday would reflect negatively on their careers.
Malaysians feel guilty about holidaying
“It is worrying that so many Malaysians feel guilty about going on holiday,” said AirAsia Expedia CEO Dan Lynn in a statement yesterday.
“Studies have shown that employees who take regular breaks to revitalise their minds and bodies are often more productive and effective in the workplace,” he said.
Money is not the issue
The survey showed that respondents in the more developed nations cited financial constraints as the main reason for not vacationing.
However, only 9% of Malaysian employees said that limited funds were the reason for not going on vacation.
Expedia’s 2012 Vacation Deprivation Survey was conducted based on 8,000 employed adults from 22 countries throughout the globe.
Do you feel vacation deprived? When was the last time you went on holiday? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Source: Malaysians among the world’s top workaholics, says survey
