Canadians are taking less vacation time, making workers here amongst the most holiday-deprived in the world, according to a study by the travel site Expedia.ca and Ipsos Reid.

Canadian workers take an average of 19 vacation days per year – down from 21 compared to results from last year's survey.

Canadians surveyed for a new study say they want more vacation time as a perk in their jobs.
(Loris Fabbrini/Associated Press)

This puts Canada third on a list of holiday-deprived nations. Workers in the U.S. take the fewest holidays, an average of 14 days, followed by Australia at an average of 17 days.

France averages the most vacation days, at 39.

The decline is in part caused by the growing number of entrepreneurs and contract workers who don't get vacation time, said Beverly Beuermann-King, a stress expert who runs the company Worksmart Livesmart.

She also said the competitive and growing economy is a factor.

Forfeited holidays a $5B boon to business 

"People are just finding there's too much to do and not enough time to do it," Beuermann-King told CBC News Online in an interview. "And they get caught up in the business, and time passes, and they find they haven't taken any vacation time."

That's why Sharon Carnegie, a sales executive with Central Reproductions Ltd. in Mississauga, Ont., hasn't taken a vacation since September 2004. She said the work pace in the major cities is hectic, and has gotten worse over the years, especially in sales.

"It's way more competitive," she said. "You have to bring more service to the table than in the past."
Carnegie also said, in her experience, the amount of work per person has increased since the economic downturn of the 1980s.

"It was like a mini depression and there was tons of layoffs and they never really hired back," she said. Now, she said, there are less people doing more work.

But, she acknowledges it's been her choice not to take her vacation.

In her six years with the printing company, the 47-year-old said she normally uses just two of her four weeks of vacation. She takes it in chunks - a day here, an afternoon there - because of the work waiting for her when she gets back.

"If you don't have anywhere good to go, it's almost just not worth it," she said.

Despite wanting to take more time off, Canadians forfeit an average of two vacation days per year, which amounts to about 32 million days and puts about $5.1 billion in wages back in employers' pockets, the survey said.

They're not taking their holidays because they're "not scheduling in advance" (11 per cent), "too busy at work" (nine per cent) or decided they're "taking cash in lieu of days" (eight per cent).

Even when Canadians do plan for vacation, about one in five cancels or puts off plans because of work, the survey said. If they do go on holiday, 18 per cent of Canadians surveyed still check their messages at work.

Many would take lower salary for more vacation time

One reason, said Beuermann-King, is that Canadians are afraid of missing something important such as a major decision at work.

"There's that kind of fear that if you're not there, maybe you'll become redundant."

That's why Lindsay Mulock, a merchandising manager for Hershey Canada Inc. in Toronto, just took her first vacation in three years.

The self-confessed control freak said no one in her office did similar duties. Mulock said she would take a day or two off, but didn't leave her job for long periods. But Mulock said she didn't mind the work pace.

"For me, it really doesn't make a difference. I went seven years without taking a vacation. That's when I was self-employed."

Mulock, a 48-year-old mother of three grown children, used to own a jewellery business. While her kids and husband would go on yearly summer vacations, she stayed to run the store.

"Rationally, I knew I could go on vacation and things would be OK," she said. "But emotionally, I felt nobody would run my business the way I'd run it."

But extra vacation time tops the survey's list of preferred job perks or rewards. And one in five Canadians surveyed said they would take a lower salary for more vacation time.

Beuermann-King said this is a trend led by the next generation of workers.

"Even though we're not taking it we want more of it," she said. "And especially the next generation. The Nexters [and] the younger Gen X-ers are wanting work-life balance. Money isn't one of the top motivators."

Holidays may help improve productivity

If people don't take holidays, the stress weakens their immune system, strains their personal relationships, and inevitably worsens their work performance, said Beuermann-King. Vacation was seen as an inconvenience in the past, but companies are now encouraging their employees to take their time off, she said.

"Yes, it's hard to have people off on vacation because people have to pick up the slack and there are inconsistencies in workload," said Beuermann-King. "But [companies are] understanding that when they come back they're more energized and more productive."

Ipsos Reid and Expedia.ca surveyed a random sample of 1,020 employed Canadians. This survey is considered accurate to within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.