Belgium's miserable summer weather means people are looking forward to a holiday abroad more than ever. However, for many, this prospect remains stressful, with recent research highlighting this is more likely the case for people going on longer leave.
For many people in Belgium, the summer months are a prime period to book a holiday. Almost three-quarters of workers in the country will take at least two consecutive weeks' holiday this summer and almost four in 10 will take at least three weeks' holiday with no interruption, research by Belgian HR service provider Tempo-Team and professor Anja Van den Broeck (KU Leuven) showed.
However, almost one in 10 will not take a 'big summer leave' at all, instead spreading their holidays over different periods in the year. The research shows this is not necessarily bad, as employees who take several short holidays rather than one long holiday appear to be more relaxed than those who take one long break in the summer.
"Employees who take several short breaks go into their leave more relaxed than their colleagues who take one long leave in the summer," she said. This is largely explained by the fact that many leaving work for a longer period have to dash to get tasks completed or transferred, which causes stress for one-third of respondents to the research survey.
A fifth (20.9%) of employees can also not leave on holiday with peace of mind due to the realisation that work is only piling up when they are away. Meanwhile, for those taking several shorter breaks, less work builds up. "So they still have nice holiday prospects and return to less work after their holidays," Van den Broeck said.
