Despite that many employees do not take their contractual or statutory vacation time each year, increasingly “vacation shaming” pervades our workplaces.
Vacation shaming has been defined as, “where co-workers and bosses use peer pressure and guilt trips to discourage employees from taking time off.”
It can be insidious, subtle and indirect – often inducing more stress into the workplace.
Employers must be vigilant to monitor their workplace and ensure a strict prohibition against this practice.
It seems odd for this to be trending in workplaces, considering that recently more than 1,200 full-time U.S. employees were surveyed to gauge their habits regarding taking paid time off of work. According to the survey, an alarming number of the employees were unwilling generally to take their contractual or statutory paid time off work, mostly attributable to management, workload and other cultural pressures.
This Machiavellian practice, whether intentionally undertaken or otherwise, creates more stress in the workplace and irrevocably and inversely reduces productivity.
It benefits neither the employee nor the employer, ultimately.
So, don’t be vacation shamed. Firstly, it is unlawful for your employer to engage in this type of behaviour, however subtle it may be, and secondly, you will be less productive and certainly not as content in your workplace by not taking your paid time away.
This WARDS LAWYERS PC publication is for general information only. It is not legal advice, nor is it intended to be. Specific or more information may be necessary before advice could be provided for your particular circumstances.
