Annual leave has been stuck at four weeks since the mid 70s, when the then Whitlam government agreed to union demands to increase leave from three to four weeks. But the workplace has changed beyond recognition since then. The expectations of being “on” 24/7, the advent of emails, instant messaging and laptops have changed and blurred the boundaries of work and home.
There are calls for the entitlement of four weeks annual leave to be increased – which sounds like a no brainer, and one we would all be enthusiastically saying yes to, but is there more to the issue?
The Pros
With workplace stress on the increase, taking time off from the workplace just makes good sense.
The most recent Mental Health Index survey which shows a sharp decline in mental health with some 78% of employees reporting a high or moderate mental health risk – the highest it has been since the early days of the pandemic (87%).
The nightmare that is school holidays: Four weeks annual leave – 12 weeks school holidays. Ask any parent and they’ll tell you that the maths just doesn’t add up. For many working parents, school holidays are a complete nightmare and one that is extremely difficult/nigh impossible to navigate both logistically and cost wise.
COVID and the advent of the four-day working week have shown us that it’s more about getting the work done than how long you’re at work. More than any time in history, the time is right!
The Cons
It’s been estimated to increase annual leave to six weeks would be an additional cost to employers of approximately 4.5%, which may lead to either job losses or organisations just continuing to increase their prices.
Many organisations don’t allow their employees to take their allocated leave now – ask any employee and they will tell you about huge annual leave and long service leave entitlements that accrue year in year out, until organisations get a scare about the cost to the balance sheet and then start mandating that their employees take their leave.
Many employees will also tell you about how it’s not worth taking leave as their work is not covered whilst they are away – and they arrive back to an even bigger pile of work.
What’s the rest of the world doing?
Countries such as France, Sweden and Austria have a five-week annual leave entitlement, while employees who have been at a workplace for more than a year are entitled to six weeks.
And of course, there are a number of organisations that offer unlimited annual leave to their employees.
So if we look at it in terms of keeping pace with other organisations, Australia is behind the eight ball.
Tell me more about unlimited leave!!
Interestingly, the jury is absolutely out on unlimited leave. For some people – it’s brilliant. For others, it is feels stressful not knowing the unwritten expectations of the organisation. A number of organisations moved away from unlimited leave after people started taking even less leave!
What we do know is that those organisations who offer great leave policies generally AND (and this is the critical bit) have the systems in place to allow employees to take their leave do score better in employee engagement type surveys.
The Takeaway
The advent of the four-day week may well be enough to start to address the issue of increased work life balance that so many of us are seeking (and indeed needing).
Some organisations are addressing the issue of school holidays by allowing employees to purchase extra leave which they can take over the holidays.
Other organisations are looking more generally at their leave policies – such as parental leave and sick leave, as employees often use annual leave to top up/complement inadequate leave.
Ultimately though – it’s a band aid on a sore – if employers aren’t addressing the blurring of work/life boundaries, the increased stress in the workplace and they don’t let people take the leave, then one or two extra weeks leave won’t fix those issues.
With thanks to the West Australian who first published this piece.
More Resources
State of the Global Workforce Report
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