Indians Are Overworked… What’s Killing Your Vacation?

When was the last time you went on a vacation? Yes, a proper vacation spanning weeks and not the weekend add-ons we try to snatch up for visiting nearby getaways. Long, relaxing and paid leave away from your office are not what they used to be, according to a yearly study by the travel portal Expedia. The number of paid leave seems to be going down worldwide and people are craving for more in a bid to strike a reasonable work-life balance.

In a recent study called 2013 Vacation Deprivation, Expedia has interviewed some 8,535 people across 24 countries. As per the findings, Europeans feel most vacation-deprived although they go for the longest vacations. In contrast, Americans grumble more but take fewer leaves than their entitlements (gasp… the majority of full-time workers in the US get 14 days of paid leave and they only take an average of 10 days). According to the poll, 35% people from the US say they have either cancelled or postponed their vacations due to work.

As for India (or most of the Asian countries for that matter), we see a similar trend – people take less number of vacation days than what their workplaces are offering – an average of 3 weeks or so.

India is the world’s 10th most vacation-deprived country and around 63% of Indians have admitted that they want more time off, as per the study. Within the country, 74% people working in Delhi feel extremely overworked and in need of vacation, followed 67% in Mumbai and 56% in Bangalore.

So what’s keeping you from your seasons in the sun? Apparently, the threat of pink slip and a deep-rooted fear of losing the job if you are away for too long. Around 18% of Indians don’t use all the leaves because they fear it will be perceived negatively by their employers while many avoid long vacations to remain in the good books of their bosses, the survey says. Overall, Indians have utilised only 20 of the 26 leaves granted to them this year. The country also leads when it comes to encashing unused holidays (37%), followed by Brazil (30%).

Around 60% of Indian workers are not able to plan their vacation in advance because of their work – again the highest in the world – while 74% have either cancelled or postponed their vacation due to workload. But the scenario is worse when it comes to weekly work hours.

Around 38% Indians work around 42 hours a week, which is much more than their counterparts from other countries, according to Vikram Malhi, general manager of Expedia (South and South-east Asia). This is, indeed, staggering when you consider the other side of the coin where people are already demanding a 4-day work week.

According to a CNN report, when Facebook executive Nicola Mendelsohn was hired as a company vice-president earlier this year, she reportedly negotiated a 4-day workweek so she could spend more time with her family. Much was made of the rumor, which Facebook would neither confirm nor deny, despite the fact that many working mothers in the US routinely, and increasingly, negotiate 4-day workweeks.

Staying wired is not the way to unwind
“You not only require adequate number of off days, but quality time as well,” says Labonita Grover, an IT professional from Pune. “Most of us live a wired life now and being away physically doesn’t mean you are not working.” As per the survey, 94% of Indians continue to check their work mail while on leave, again the highest in the world, followed by France (93%), Thailand (92%), Malaysia (91%) and Mexico (91%).

You stay wired because you have been aligned with a work culture that treats work not just as a job, but as a large part of people’s lives – if not the sum of their lives. Many of our societies also treat vacation as a luxury rather than a right. According to the Expedia study, this applies to the US as well.

The French are also disgruntled, according to the survey. In spite of extensive vacation leaves, they feel deprived as they are still wired with work either “constantly, regularly or sometimes” – checking work e-mail and voice messages. Incidentally, they get the longest paid vacation – a total of 30 days. Yet, 90% say they feel vacation deprived, which is well above the 62% global average.

Working from home – is it any better?
When Marissa Mayer of Yahoo started her crusade against home-based workers, a Bangalore-based IT professional just guffawed. “There could be a productivity issue out there for all we know, but now they can get away after 8 hours. In India, working from home means 24x7 firefighting and contingencies are lined up,” says Anirban Roy who works for a global technology firm.

He keeps his system next to the bed (sleeping on the laptop is what they call it) for every possible emergency and often attends conference calls at weird hours. Needless to say, no cats, dogs, babies, spouse or friends are allowed in the sanctum sanctorum. Of course, one saves the time and money on daily commute and don’t dress (for office). But that’s about all. The kind of happy pictures you get to see on the Internet (person in pajamas cuddling dogs and babies) are farthest from the truth.

What will make you happy?
It should be a mix of professional and personal fulfillment, with enough time for family and friends. Interestingly, 85% of the Indian respondents have said they are satisfied with their jobs in spite of being vacation-deprived. “But then, many of us toil under a twisted sense of power and responsibility, which makes up for the vacation days we are missing every year,” reflects Labonita. “To live a balanced life, it should be the other way round – you should be able to enjoy your free time as much as you enjoy your job. A job that gets larger than life finally swallows all other priorities,” she adds.

It seems a sound approach. European countries like Norway, Denmark and Sweden are already offering generous vacation endowments and their employees remain quite satisfied. These nations are not losing out on productivity either and have some of the most stable economies. For all we know, relax more to work harder could be the new-age doctrine very soon. After all, fearful and jaded minds could hardly usher in new waves at the workplace of the future.