Don, a Metro Vancouver-based public service worker, has been saving up vacation days.
The Tyee has agreed to identify Don only by first name to protect his employment. He said that for most of his career, his contract offered three weeks of paid vacation per year. Every other year, he would use that time to take off most of December and travel, Don said.
After working the same job for years, Don earned a fourth week of paid vacation per year. But instead of taking that extra week off, Don said, for the past three years he has been banking vacation days in case he needs — or wants — to stay off work longer.
“[Saving extra days] gives me a comfortable cushion on either side,” he said.
While Don is banking vacation time, many other Canadians are leaving vacation hours on the table for more pressing reasons.
Surveys show most Canadians don’t take all their paid time off, citing a variety of reasons including economic uncertainty and banking vacation days for a big holiday. But the top reason respondents picked was to save time off for emergencies.
The polls highlight how many Canadian workers — especially those at the beginning of their careers — don’t have enough paid time off and sick leave.
But missing those days off can ramp up stress and lead to burnout, a human resources expert says. It’s an issue Don said he remembers well from skipping time off earlier in his career.
“It gets to be a bit of a grind,” Don said. “I don’t see how people do it without completely destroying their lives and burning out.”
Research suggests Canadians are not taking full advantage of paid vacation time. A 2023 survey by ADP Canada found 31 per cent of Canadians surveyed took all their allotted vacation time, while another 32 per cent took less than half.
Nearly a third of respondents said they planned to cancel or put off travel due to the high cost of living.
Another study published by travel company Expedia last year found only 45 per cent of Canadians polled used all their annual vacation time.
B.C. employment standards entitle both full-time and part-time workers to two weeks of paid vacation after a year of employment. Employees can’t skip taking vacation to receive that pay.
Still, the Expedia poll found 58 per cent of Canadians said they were “vacation deprived” and just over a fifth of respondents reported working a year or more between taking vacations.
The survey, which polled 11,580 respondents from across North America, Europe and Asia, asked respondents why they were leaving time on the table.
Like Don, one in five Canadians surveyed said they were saving those hours to take a longer trip.
Meanwhile, 22 per cent of respondents said they were hoarding time off in case of an emergency. This was the most common reason to leave time on the table.
The answer suggests Canadians are rationing their time off instead of taking a break. More than a third of all Canadians don’t have paid sick leave, Statistics Canada data shows, especially younger Canadians.
According to Statistics Canada, 39.8 per cent of men and 41.8 per cent of women aged 15 to 24 — excluding students — reported having access to paid sick leave.
Sick leave coverage increases in the next age bracket, with 66.3 per cent of men and 69.5 per cent of women aged 25 to 34 reporting having access to paid sick leave.
The study did not report data for non-binary employees.
‘People need time away from work’
But time off for relaxation may be sorely needed, said Hilda Gan, president and chief people officer of the Markham, Ontario-based human resources firm People Bright Consulting Inc.
She said she understands some people skip time off because they are stressed about money, while other people find it difficult to take a rest. Still, she said, it’s important for workers to find ways to take breaks.
“People need time away from work,” she said. “When you don’t get sufficient time off, you’re not switching your mindset, you’re not resting emotionally, physically and mentally, and that can lead to a lot of extra stress.”
A 2023 Statistics Canada survey found just over 4.1 million Canadians — more than a fifth of all working Canadians — reported feeling high or very high work-related stress.
The leading causes? About 24 per cent of respondents cited heavy workload and 16 per cent cited struggling with work-life balance.
Gan said people who work remotely or put in most of their hours from home particularly struggle with work-life balance. She added definitive breaks can help employees manage that stress.
“People don’t have that time to refresh,” she said. “Vacation is a much more definitive break than going home each night.”
Time off doesn’t have to mean travel, Gan said. She suggested taking time off at home — often called a “staycation” — or finding other ways to take time off.
“It’s like any muscle; you need to use it,” she said. “That continuous work mentality without de-stressing and resetting leads to burnout.”
