By Andy McCue, 3 July 2007 17:20
NEWS
Excessive workloads are causing almost two-thirds of managers in the IT industry to miss out on some of their annual holiday allowance.
The research by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) found 63 per cent of managers will not use their full holiday allowance this year - up from 40 per cent in 2003 - and only 27 per cent said they will carry their unused holiday time over to the next calendar year.
Most (20 per cent) of those not using up their leave blamed excessive workloads, followed by poor personal planning and "enjoyment of work".
Across all sectors the CMI research estimates 21.6 million holiday days are not taken each year by managers in the UK.
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Just over a third (37 per cent) of managers in the IT sector said unused holidays can be sold back for cash but almost half (43 per cent) said no such options are available for exchanging holiday entitlement for other benefits.
Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of IT industry managers also backed calls by the TUC for a new bank holiday in October and 60 per cent said UK holiday entitlement should be brought in line with other EU countries.
Only eight per cent of managers in the IT sector plan to holiday in the UK, with the most popular destinations being Australia, Canada, the Caribbean and the Greek islands. But more than a fifth (22 per cent) said they also use holiday entitlement to do voluntary or charity work.
Jo Causon, marketing and corporate affairs director at the CMI, said in a statement: "Taking time off for a proper break is not a sign of weakness, so individuals should be encouraged to use their holiday entitlement to the full."
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1. Chris Down
I used to suffer regularly from severe drops in productivity due to stress and exhaustion. I took this up with my employer and agreed what I think was an enlightened solution.
It was clear that I was working far more than my contracted hours so my contract was changed so that it reflected the hours I actually worked. The number of days I work in a year was reduced pro-rata giving me an extra 3 weeks of leave.
At the start of the year I select the seven weeks I am not going to be working. This is vital both for work planning, and to ensure that I take regular leave and get benefit from it.
Part of the deal is that I can't carry the leave over, nor can I get paid for unused leave.
I now work at much higher levels of efficiency, my stress is reduced because I always have a break to look forward to, and I haven't had any sick leave at all since I started working this way.
I get more done in the year, I get more "me time" and the company has no unplanned absences to worry about.. We all win!.