Lack of leave can lead to stress in the workplace

An astounding 4.5 million British office workers are losing more than six days of annual leave every year. Reasons given include being worried about losing their job, or looking bad in front of the boss. One in 20 even admitted they take just half of the time off they are entitled to, saying that using every day of their annual leave is frowned upon in their workplace.

The survey of 2,000 professionals, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Hilton Hotels & Resorts, found that, while the average Brit is entitled to 23 days of leave each year, 40 per cent rarely, or never, use their full allocation. Additional reasons for this are running out of time to use it, worrying about judgement from colleagues, juggling busy workloads and difficulties fitting around co-workers’ holidays. Fears about showing lack of commitment to the job, being made redundant, or colleagues taking credit for their work, were also cited as explanations for not taking leave.

Three in 10 surveyed admitted to spending a large chunk of their holiday worrying about their job and what their co-workers were saying about them, while 25% have even called into the office while on leave to check for updates on on-going projects.

These findings may go some way to explaining why we are suffering so much from workplace stress as a nation, with two new surveys indicating that at least one in six employees has called in sick due to stress over the past year.

A survey carried out by serviced office provider Business Environment reveals that more than a quarter of office workers (28%) feel stressed at work all or most of the time, with one-fifth (21%) saying they take work home at least once a week. Factors such as unrealistic deadlines, pressure from above and lack of support are cited as the biggest culprits in causing stress.

The findings underline the negative effects stress can have in the workplace. As many as one in twelve (7%) admit that they have shouted at a colleague as a result of stress, while 3% have thrown something across the room and 2% said they have sworn in front of a client.

Meanwhile, research commissioned by life insurance and pension firm Friends Life exposes a gender gap in the drivers for stress, with 31% of males saying work causes them the most stress, followed by money. The finding is reversed when it comes to female office workers, with 34% citing money as the main cause of stress and 23% blaming work.