Korean workers take fewest days off: survey

An average South Korean employee uses seven vacation days out of a possible 10, making it one of the most vacation-deprived nations, according to a recent survey on worldwide holiday habits.

Online travel agency Expedia conducted a “2013 Vacation Deprivation Study,” involving 8,500 employees across 24 countries and five continents. According to the data, the total average number of days off given to employees was 21.6 days, but respondents only took an average of 18.7 days off, showing that Korean workers are overworking themselves far more than others.

Data showed that, in sharp contrast to Koreans, French workers take 30 days off annually. French respondents, however, said they don’t get enough holidays.

Koreans who were surveyed cited the difficultly in coordinating vacation periods as the major obstacle. They say it is hard to schedule vacations that are convenient for themselves and their coworkers. Other reasons include financial and time constraints.

In the survey, 56 percent of Korean respondents said their bosses were not supportive of workers taking vacations.

By Yoon Ha-youn, Intern reporter
(yhayoun@heraldcorp.com)