After over a year of staying at home, working long hours into the evening and weekends, afraid of losing your job and worried about catching Covid-19, it’s time for a much-needed vacation break.
According to a study from Robert Half, a large global recruiting firm, “Many workers are worn out and ready to make up for lost vacation time.” Around 44% of the respondents said that they are “more burned out on the job today compared to a year ago, up from 34% in a similar 2020 poll.” Roughly 50% have experienced “increased fatigue” and attributed it to a “heavier workload.”
Now that we’re heading into summer with millions of Americans vaccinated, states reopened and the economy and job marketing improving, there’s a pent-up demand to get away. About one third of survey respondents said they’d take a vacation for three weeks or longer. Nearly 60% are planning an “awaycation” to “travel and completely disconnect from work; in comparison, 32% prefer a staycation, and only 11% favor a ‘workcation’ or a vacation that combines work and leisure.”
The time off was hard earned. When workers were sent home at the beginning of the pandemic, there was an unspoken pressure that people were expected to put in longer hours without any increase in compensation.
As about 80 million Americans filed for unemployment during the pandemic, white-collar workers were understandably worried about holding onto their jobs. They were willing to endure the punishing hours and stress to save their livelihood.
A Harvard Business School study, which included over 3 million people who worked from home, found that the “average workday increased by 8.2%” during the beginning of the outbreak. For many people, the workday grew significantly longer as time progressed. This has taken an unfortunate toll on remote workers. The rate of burnout, according to a study from job aggregation site Indeed, reached epic proportions.
The unfortunate part was that the conscientious employees didn’t reap the rewards for allowing the boundaries between work and life to erode. A recent U.K. study showed the results of working from home during the time period between 2011 and 2020. It looks like remote workers didn’t do too well.
People who mainly worked from home were less than half as likely to be promoted. Around 38% of remote workers didn’t receive a bonus. Telecommuters put in six hours of unpaid overtime on average per week in 2020 and remote staff worked well into the evening. The sickness absence rate for at-home professionals was 0.9% on average in 2020.
With the long hours, accompanying stress, largely without monetary rewards or shows of appreciation, it’s understandable that people can’t wait to break away to relax and decompress.
Airbnb, the short-term home and apartment rental-sharing company, said it expects “a travel rebound unlike anything we have seen before.” Indicative of the “getaway” mindset, Airbnb said in a letter sent to shareholders that its home-sharing business model is doing a brisk business, as “guests aren’t just traveling on Airbnb, they are living on Airbnb” for longer periods of time compared to the past.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Passenger volumes at U.S. airports hit pandemic records” two weekends ago with “more than 1.7 million people passing through airport security.” United Airlines is adding more than 400 daily flights to its July schedule and increasing service to reopened European destinations. The move marks United’s largest monthly schedule since before the pandemic. Summer travel is up 214% compared to 2020 levels.
Paul McDonald, senior executive director at Robert Half, said, “After enduring more than a year of long hours and little time off, many workers are feeling burned out and need a break to relax and refresh.” He added, “Running on empty can have a negative effect on employees’ mental health and well-being, and managers should make it a priority to encourage their teams to enjoy a well-deserved vacation.”
McDonald gave some advice to corporate leadership, “Managers can foster a vacation-friendly culture by taking time off themselves and disconnecting as much as possible when they do. Planning for staff absences—including bringing in contract professionals—can also help ease people’s anxiety about missing work, minimize disruptions and ensure continued productivity.”
