In desperate need of a holiday?

Turns out the answer might be staring you in the face; nearly 40 percent of workers in Ireland don’t take their full allocation of annual leave.

A survey by IrishJobs.ie reveals that almost four in ten workers (37%) didn’t take all their holidays in 2017. In fact, just under half of respondents took a holiday longer than two weeks last year.

But even those who took a holiday found it hard to switch off—a third (33%) of respondents admitted to working while on annual leave.

The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 sets out a basic annual paid leave requirement of four working weeks (or 20 days) for full-time workers in Ireland. However, two-thirds (67%) of those surveyed are offered more than twenty days annual leave by their employer.

A lucky two percent of those surveyed are entitled to unlimited annual leave.

“The Irish workforce is extremely hard-working.” says IrishJobs.ie General Manager Orla Moran.

“Many are working in extremely competitive professional environments and understandably are eager to demonstrate their work ethic, ambition and commitment to their employer. One outcome is that employees become so consumed with their day job, taking annual leave becomes a secondary consideration.”

Our advice? Take those precious days off, even if you spend them on the sofa. All work and no play is guaranteed to lead to burn out.