Holiday is the Need of the Hour for Workaholic Aussies

A summer holiday is a must for Australians who have not taken a break from work commitments for over a year.

New figures show workers have built up almost 130 million days of annual leave over a year.

Workers are stockpiling their leave entitlements, affecting their health and also the domestic tourism industry, Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said in a statement on Saturday.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for the year ending September 2011 show annual stockpiled leave for full-time employees is 129.6 million days in a year, worth 40 billion dollars in wages.

"Holidays are about replenishing the heart and soul and Australia is a great place to take a break whether it's for three, five or 14 days or more," the Herald Sun quoted Mr McEvoy as saying.

A couple of short breaks throughout the year can make all the difference, Mr McEvoy added.

He was relaunching the No Leave No Life campaign, the Channel Seven series that surprises workaholic Australians with a much-needed holiday.

The campaign aims to shift an "embedded workplace trait in Australia of accumulating leave and not taking a break", Mr McEvoy said.

"Stockpiled leave can be a huge financial burden for employers with accumulated leave sitting on the balance sheet.

"Then there is the impact on employee productivity, health and stress levels which are all negatively impacted when taking leave is habitually avoided," he added.

Source: ANI