Feeling vacation deprived? So are 55 per cent of your fellow Canadians

WINNIPEG — A new Expedia.ca survey shows more than half of Canadians think they’re lacking vacations.

Expedia.ca’s annual vacation deprivation survey shared some insight in the 2016 working world through the perspective of employees.

While it showed 55 per cent of Canadians feeling deprived of vacations, 62 per cent came out saying they think they deserve more vacation days.

But, even though that 62 per cent said it needed more vacation days, Canadians seem to be leaving behind three full days. This number is double the amount of days left behind in 2015.

RELATED: Are unlimited holidays the key to work-life balance?

What happens when you leave these vacation days behind? Well, according to the survey, that meant more than $5.5 billion in wages have been handed back to the employers.

Three of the main reasons employees have given for feeling vacation deprived:

• Not enough money saved for a vacation
• Too busy at work
• Feel guilty leaving work

According to the survey Millenials (age 18-34) defy their “entitled generation” stereotype when they’re in the working world. Notoriously known to not take their allotted vacation days because they’re either too busy or feel guiltier about taking vacation days.

“I feel guilty. I’m still working my way up sort of thing. I don’t feel like I’ve earned it yet,” said one young Canadian about taking her vacation time.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I feel guilty. I'm still working my way up sort of thing. I don't feel like I've earned it yet," said one young Canadian about taking her vacation time.

However, Rafiq Punjani has employed hundreds of people and said when people don’t take their vacation days, they’re doing themselves and their company a disservice.

“If somebody is too stressed, the productivity goes down,” said Rafiq Punjani, Managing Director of Anago Cleaning Systems.

Punjani explained that he understands from an employers perspective that you have hard working individuals out there who just never want to leave. But, he said it’s a catch 22. You don’t want to leave, but in a sense you actually need to so that you can take a break and come back to work fresh.

“When people come back from holidays you can see a spark in their eyes. They’re energized [and] they’re more active,” said Punjani.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "When people come back from holidays you can see a spark in their eyes. They're energized [and] they're more active," said Punjani.

He also suggested if you don’t feel like you can afford to take a vacation, perhaps try a staycation.

And, if you don’t feel like you’re able to jet set just yet, then why not take an extended weekend instead. Punjani suggested you could book your Monday and Friday off and just make it a longer long weekend.