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A third of the British working population are not taking their total annual leave allowance*, effectively making the office the country’s most popular holiday destination.
For millions of people, potential holiday time is being replaced by more time at the desk. Our faces are being warmed by fluorescent strip lighting rather than kissed by the sun, and feelings of stress and anxiety are replacing those of relaxation and Zen.
To encourage Brit’s to #GetOutOfOffice, Virgin Atlantic has enlisted the help of Judith Chalmers – star of the ultimate holiday show ‘Wish you were here’ – to create a suitably informative video for those spending a proportion of their statutory leave in the office. The lovely Judith takes viewers on a spoof tour of this popular holiday destination; extolling the various virtues of the canteen’s delectable treats, the beautiful car park views and the wide variety of reading material on offer. To enjoy Judith’s review of the office visit www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/the-virgin-experience/getooo.html .
Further research by Virgin Atlantic has revealed that although many of us are not taking our full holiday allowance, we do realise its value. Despite these uncertain economic times, over half (56.3%) of those surveyed would be willing to swap a portion of their salary for more holiday days. One in five (20%) of these would happily give up at least 10% of their salary, which would equate to surrendering more than £2,760 of their salary a year. One in five (17%) women would even prefer to give up chocolate for a year than give up their holiday!
Holidays are the key to ensuring our health and wellbeing with almost two thirds (65%) of people feeling more productive once they have had a holiday to recharge their batteries, and 67% of those surveyed getting greater job satisfaction after they have been on holiday.
“We all lead busy lives and it’s easy to get stuck behind your desk wrapped up in emails” said Jill Brady, EVP, Customer at Virgin Atlantic. “Holiday time is obviously important to British workers and it’s astounding that one in three people aren’t actually using their annual leave allocation. We want to encourage and inspire people to look beyond their laptop, get out of the office and take that trip they have always wanted to do.”
“People end up spending their holiday reading their inbox at their desk rather than a new bestseller on the beach because they feel too busy to take the time off. Often workers and employers alike assume presenteeism leads to more productivity, when in fact the opposite is true. Not having sufficient time off and away from it all leads to increased stress, depression and decreased creativity.” Graham Allcott, Founder of Think Productive (opens in a new window) & Author of How to be a Productivity Ninja
Virgin Atlantic is calling for workers to #GetOutOfOffice and the people who most need to are those working in the travel and tourism industry – giving up a whopping 6.2 days of holiday on average a year. They lead the charge closely followed by those in the sales/procurement and media professions.
In order to enable this exodus from the office, Virgin Atlantic is offering discounts on flights to a range of destinations for a limited time only. So #GetOutOfOffice now through www.virginatlantic.com and book your getaway.
Notes:
*research taken from Croner White Paper by Wolters Kluwer 2015- https://croner.co.uk/news/british-workers-too-busy-to-take-holiday/ (opens in a new window)
Average working days calculated at 8 hours (9am-5pm, with an hour lunch break)
Average salary taken to be £27,600 – https://www.incometaxcalculator.org.uk/average_salary.php (opens in a new window)
British working population taken to be 31.75 million –http://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/august2016(opens in a new window)
Average paid annual leave is calculated at 28 days – https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/entitlement (opens in a new window)
Methodology:
Research conducted by Censuswide with 1,000 full time British workers who don’t take their full holiday allowance from 12th to 17th August
Contact details:
For further details please contact virginatlantic@webershandwick.com
