Are the UK employees vacation deprived or just need more flexible working conditions?

Expedia.co.uk has released their annual global Vacation Deprivation report, analysing the work-life balance of more than 30,000 adult workers across 30 countries.

While the UK is floating somewhere in the middle compared to the rest of the world, by not feeling drastically vacation deprived though feeling like they could definitely use a few extra vacation days per year, 55% were still saying they’d be willing to give up alcohol for a week, 43% would be willing to give up social media for a week and 30% are willing to give up sex for a week, all for just one extra vacation day off a year.

The desire for more flexible working conditions rises

When asked what ‘work perks’ you’d be more likely to ask for in job negotiations, more British than any other country globally would negotiate the ability to be able to work from home more often. Though when asked the same question in last year’s Vacation Deprivation report, the UK were below the global average when asked if this would be an important work perk, a huge increase within 12 months.

It seems the UK are one of the furthest behind on the current ‘unlimited vacation policy’ trend with only 6% saying their employers offer this. Though while we know it’s our laws that limit employers offering unlimited vacation in such words, could this be linked to the increase Expedia saw this year of Brits wanting to work from home more often?

How vacation time benefits employers and companies

When asked how vacation benefits you emotionally from a mental health perspective, 71% of Brits return feeling more relaxed, 61% say they feel rejuvenated and have a better outlook both personally and professionally, 40% come back feeling more patient and 40% come back feeling less anxious and worried but instead more organised and ready to take on the next challenge.

Though the benefits that taking vacation time has for employers and companies is clear, 79% of Brits admitted to spending time at work dreaming about and/or planning the next vacation with almost 1 in 3 admitting to spending at least 2 hours dreaming and planning a week and 18% admitting to 3 or more hours a week, valuable work time lost.

Making the most of our valuable days off

With 4 out of 5 Brits making sure they take all the annual vacation days off that they’re given. When it comes to our European neighbouring countries, more Brits than any other country choose to take their vacation days over several short trips or long weekends away throughout the year, clearly utilising how close our neighbouring holiday hot spots are.