Vacation Request—Rejected!

HUMAN RESOURCES

The vast majority of full-time workers plan to enjoy some downtime over the summer, but some will see their vacation dreams dashed due to employers’ ineffective policies, according to The Summertime Crunch, a survey by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated. The survey found 69% of employees plan to use vacation time between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but 21% of those with vacation time to burn will be denied the request because a co-worker has already requested the same time off.

Among employees who have vacation time, 45% say their employer has no policy on advance notice for vacation time; 37% say their employer uses an automated system to track or schedule absences; and 59% say their employer requires them to coordinate time off with co-workers. Failure to set appropriate policies can be a drag on morale.

“Employees who are denied requested vacation time are not going to be happy,” said Joyce Maroney, director of The Workforce Institute. “It behooves organizations to be upfront and set a clear policy for time-off requests.”

On the flip side, employers are faced with the unpredictable challenge of “Seasonal Absence Syndrome”—according to the study, 37% of full-time workers have called in sick in the past to enjoy a day off.

Source: The Workforce Institute’s The Summertime Crunch, www.kronos.com/press-releases/Summer-Forecast-Sunny-With-High-Probability-of- Absence.htm.