According to a Randstad India survey, it has been observed that about 35 to 40 percent of employees in India said that they feel anxious to ask for leaves from their bosses.
In the survey, it was observed that around 25 percent avoid it due to FOMO (fear of missing out) at work. In a similar survey when it was conducted in America as per the findings about 39 percent of employees agreed to feel stressed and guilty about taking well-deserved offs.
According to the 2018 vacation deprivation report, released by the online travel portal Expedia, 75 percent of Indians feel vacation-deprived, which is the highest in the world, followed by South Korea and Hong Kong. The annual report spans 19 countries and highlights that vacation deprivation is on the rise.
With the pandemic, work-from-home culture and workcations blurred the distance between one’s professional and personal space.
The post-lockdown period has added to work pressures to consistently prove themselves to secure their jobs amid scarce employment opportunities and a trend of layoffs that left many jobless in the last two years.
India is affected by a silent epidemic called ‘Guilt Vacation Syndrome’ and several studies have indicated this in the past. The term is used for office-goers who feel guilty about using their designated leaves.
Some of the reasons behind the syndrome are as follows:-
- Fear of missing out (FOMO)
- Job insecurity
- The pressure to always be productive
Indians also feel that they are the most vacation-deprived people in the world and that they hardly take any “vacation time”. Experts say that a lack of breaks and vacations can lead to mental health problems.
The only way the employees can build up the courage to ask for well-deserved offs is to work on their self-esteem. The employees need to understand that they are doing better than average and that they deserve a few days away from the office desk.
