If you are feeling tired and overworked, you may want a vacation. But the question is: will you take it? Indians are among the top rankers when it comes to not taking holidays, which will surprise many bosses who complain they are signing leave applications all the time. A global survey puts Indians as the fifth “vacation deprived” nation in the world, letting go of 20 per cent of what is entitled to them. Guilt about what the management will think keeps them from taking a break. The Japanese take just 50 per cent of the leave they can avail themselves of, making them even more work-oriented.
But these findings can be misleading when you realise that the Japanese get 11 days off in a year and we Indians get 25 (on an average). Also, there is a holiday or two every month and office-goers begin planning their time off the moment they get their calendars in January. Indians are very canny when it comes to linking casual leave with a holiday and turning it into a long weekend.
But nothing beats the Europeans when it comes to vacations. They take each of the nearly 30 days they are entitled to. For them a holiday is an entitlement, not a luxury, and God help anyone who deprives them of it. Harsh economic realities could, however, alter the scene completely — the Europeans may have to work harder and Indians, with a growing economy, can look forward to more days of leisure.