WHAT IS VACATION SHAMING?

Vacation shaming is when you receive derogatory comments about vacation planning at your workplace. It is not connected to your results at https://20bet.com/de/casino but more the bad energy in your office. 

After exhausting weeks at work, you more than deserve a vacation. Yet something is stopping you from taking a few days off – or your work environment is influencing you through what’s called “vacation shaming,” in which colleagues and supervisors use peer pressure and blame when an employee wants to go on vacation. 

CAUSES

In many companies and industries, overwork is still considered a status symbol. Taking extended time off in such a work environment is often viewed with suspicion or resentment, if not tried to be prevented – with success, as some surveys of employees show.

According to a survey conducted by insurance provider Allianz Global Assistance, working Americans take, on average, less than half (41 percent) of the vacation days to which they are entitled. Two out of 10 Americans take no vacation at all. Even in the year the survey was published (2019), only 42 percent reported planning a summer vacation.

Millennials in particular are missing out on vacation. Even just asking their supervisors about vacation, 59 percent of Millennials surveyed feel nervousness, guilt or shame, and 33 percent of them said this guilt would actually keep them from taking a vacation. 

Vacation shaming occurs because of a combination of factors:

• Companies with a hustle culture view vacations as a sign of low engagement.
• Fear of negative career repercussions (for example, being passed over for promotions) makes employees reluctant to take vacation.
• Dependence on certain employees in projects can make vacation requests seem like a burden to the team.

SIGNS OF IT

Vacation shaming is manifested, for example, by glorifying overtime.

Vacation shaming can manifest itself in many ways, both directly and indirectly, before, during, or after vacation, and it can come from colleagues as well as supervisors. Here are some typical signs that may indicate that vacation shaming is taking place in your work environment:

• Disparaging comments when someone is planning a vacation or is already on vacation. Such comments are aimed at downplaying the importance of time off and rest breaks or portraying the employee as “lazy.
• Responding poorly to requests for leave, suggesting, for example, that the person’s absence is unwanted or that it is a burden on the team.
• Conveying feelings of guilt to pressure the employee to postpone or cancel the leave. The person may feel guilty or feel that they are letting their job down.
• Interruptions during vacation: Vacation shaming can also occur when employees are already on vacation. Then colleagues or supervisors contact them constantly to urge them to work or to inquire about the status of their projects.
• Employees may feel excluded or isolated when they are on vacation, as they may be given the impression that they are missing out on something at work or are no longer a (“good”) team member. 
• Risk to career: Sometimes employees might feel pressure that it is bad for their career or position in the company if they take their full vacation. 
• This pressure is strongly related to the glorification of overtime or not taking vacation: When employees who do not use their vacation days are positively highlighted or even rewarded, this can reinforce negative attitudes toward taking extended time off.