Nearly two thirds of UK workers feel more productive after going on holiday, according to research released today by Reed.
The survey of over 2,500 workers throughout the country found that 64 per cent of respondents feel more productive when they came back from holiday. Holidays also increase creativity. Over three-quarters of workers (78 per cent) say they have their best ideas for work either when they are on holiday or immediately on return.
And this at a time when less than half of workers are taking their full holiday entitlement (44 per cent)!
One in five are actually taking less than a quarter of what they are owed. Male workers are most hard done by when it comes to taking holiday, with only 39 per cent of men taking their full holiday entitlement compared to 49 per cent of women.
The top reason for not taking holiday is that there is too much work to do, according to 44 per cent of respondents. Second on the list, according to more than one in ten (13 per cent), is fear that taking holidays harms careers and could even lead to redundancy.
56 per cent of all UK employers do not insist their staff use their full holiday entitlement.
When compared to other countries in the European Union, the UK has the lowest amount of statutory holidays with just 20 days a year, eleven days less than average. The UK also has the highest statutory working hours a week, 48 hours compared to France’s 35. However, GDP per capita is still lower in the UK than in other EU countries with larger holiday entitlement.
