Millennials Not on Vacation
July 27, 2018
Can’t imagine the workplace without you? Does logging off your work account stress you out? Does spending your paid vacation days on the beach frighten you? If you said yes to any of these questions, then you’re not alone.
It’s July and vacation season is underway, but not for millennials. Despite the abhorrent number of claims that millennials are lazy, the opposite remains as data suggest that millennials are teetering on vacation adverse. So dedicated, that in many cases, they don’t take their paid vacation days and when millennials do go on vacation, they don’t use up all the days they are entitled to and are still plugged in at work via their mobile devices. Millennials shunning vacation time may be derived from peer attitude against vacationing. Millennials feel they need to prove themselves against the stereotype of being lazy and entitled, the burden of a heavy workload, and finances.
Why are millennials becoming known as “work-martyrs”? A few reasons according to the Alamo Family Vacation Study reports that 59% of millennials feel a sense of shame when planning for time off work and on top of that, 47% feel like they have to justify their vacation days. These emotions aren’t necessarily caused by older generations, in fact, the Alamo study found that millennials were more likely to shame their co-workers for leaving the office at 42% (compared to 24% of older generations).
Research by TD tells us that about half of Canadian millennials are not taking their full allotment of vacation days compared to 36% of the national average. 31% of millennials report this to be because of a heavy workload, with 29% being unable to afford travel costs. Workers from Ontario and British Columbia are also tied in taking the least amount of their vacation days.
When millennials are out of the office, they still feel obliged to stay connected to work via their mobile devices. According to Lenovo, 61% of millennials report that flexibility is the preference at work, even if that means working while on their vacation time. Over half of millennials, at 53%, anticipate checking their work accounts while away from the office.
TD reports that 89% of millennials believe vacation time to be essential for well-being and important to one’s life to pursue interests outside of work. Yet, even this salient belief is not enough to break the barriers facing millennials when it comes to taking time off work to recoup.
While Millennials are stressed about falling behind at work or not being seen as hard workers, LinkedIn explains the detriments to not taking a vacation. The main issue with no time off can lead to burnout with 58% of people feeling overwhelmed, 21% getting disorganized, and only 3% having the creative juices flowing for work without a vacation.
In general, both employers and millennials believe vacation time to be an important component of a healthy work-life balance. So, pack your bags and log off your email (if you can’t manage the email part, don’t worry, we understand).
