India 4th most vacation-deprived nation, says survey

It is all work and no play for Indians who have moved up a notch higher in the list of the most-vacation-deprived nation. A study by Expedia shows India is the fourth most vacation deprived nation. Japan ranked number one.

According to the study, while bosses in India have softened their stance on leaves, but the median numbers of leave granted has dropped significantly from 25 in 2011 to 20 this year.

“Indians still rank second globally in the number of people logging in during vacation, with 47 per cent checking regularly and 39 per cent checking sometimes. These trends indicate the increasing levels of stress and highlight the importance of a good break,” said Manmeet Ahluwalia, marketing head, Expedia India.

The main reason why Indians could not utilise their vacation days was because they were either accumulating their leave in exchange for money or they could not coordinate schedules with their travel partner. While superiors in Italy were the least supportive, bosses in Brazil topped the chart with 83 per cent of them backing their employees’ holiday plans.

The study also revealed India has the second-highest number of bosses that approve of vacation at 76 per cent. Within India, Delhi bosses turned out to be the most supportive of their employees taking leave at 81 per cent followed by Mumbai and South India both at 74 per cent, according to the study.

Expedia survey also said people in India travelled with friends most at 41 per cent, more than their counterparts in other countries, while a large number (58 per cent) travelled with family.

Harris Interactive fielded the online survey on behalf of Expedia between September 13, 2012, and October 12, 2012, among a global cross-section of 8,687 employed adults aged over 16 in 22 countries, including 602 in India.