Four-in-Ten Hospitality Workers Aren't Planning to Take a Vacation This Year

Employers Expect Workers to Stay in Touch While Away.

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. May 21, 2009

MAY 21, 2009 - With only a few days until the official start of vacation season, money, anxiety and guilt are causing some workers to scrap their vacation plans. Four-in-ten (40 percent) hospitality workers say they haven't gone on or aren't planning on taking a vacation in 2009; three-in-ten say it is because they just can't afford it, according to CareerBuilder's annual vacation survey. Additionally, hospitality workers indicate that they are either afraid of losing their jobs (10 percent) if they go on vacation or feel guilty (13 percent) being away from work.

Taking a vacation doesn't necessarily mean a clean break from work. Nearly four-in-ten (38 percent) hospitality employers say they expect employees to check in while they are away; with 31 percent indicating it'll be necessary only if they are working on a big project or there is a major issue. Close to three-in-ten (28 percent) hospitality workers say they plan to contact the office once or more, regardless of what they are working on, while they are on vacation.

"While the current economy may be causing workers anxiety about taking a vacation this year, a break from work is essential for maintaining healthy productivity levels," said Jason Ferrara, senior career adviser for CareerBuilder. "Workers should plan ahead and make it a goal to use their vacation benefits this year; less than one-in-ten hospitality workers reported that they didn't use all of their allotted time last year. Utilizing your time off is even more important now due to the added responsibilities and pressure that some workers may be faced with due to the current economic situation."

When planning a vacation, Ferrara recommends the following tips to ensure your time off is a true break from work:

1. Start Preparing Today - The minute you start thinking about booking a vacation, talk to your supervisor and see if the dates you want to be away are a good time for both of you.

2. Leave a Plan Behind - A few weeks before you leave, start recording important information, key contacts and any deadlines that will come up while you are gone and give it to a coworker who can fill-in for you while you are gone.

3. Stick to a Schedule - While it's best to leave work behind, if you must do work, set limits and boundaries for yourself and your co-workers. Don't let activities on vacation be interrupted by work.

4. Set a Good Example - If you are the boss, take a vacation and limit your contact with the office. Workers will feel much better getting away and enjoying themselves if they see the boss doing the same.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 2,543 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions; non government); ); and 4,435 U.S. employees (employed full-time; not self-employed; non government ages 18 and over between February 20 and March 11, 2009 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset of 173 hospitality employees and 142 hospitality employers, based on their responses to certain questions).With a pure probability sample of 2,543 and 4,435 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.94 +/- percentage points and 1.47 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.