ELMO data reveals average of 160 million days of unused leave across Australia

• 22% of Australian workers have accrued over four weeks of annual leave, with older workers racking up higher averages than their younger counterparts
• The average employee has just under 16 days of leave due, taking total annual leave pay for this period to over $7,000 for the average full time worker entitled to leave loading*
• Three in five employees feel like they can’t take leave, with the primary reason being that they’re too busy 
• Employees are feeling the pressure of the current climate, with 43% of workers feeling burnt out and four in ten saying their workload has increased since the last quarter

7 November, 2024 – Employees are hoarding their annual leave, putting added pressure on themselves and their workplaces, the latest ELMO Employee Sentiment Index (ESI) report found. 

The report, covering the quarter of July – September 2024, surveyed over 1,000 Australian workers about their current workforce challenges, with topics ranging from productivity, worker mobility, job security and leave. 

While the pandemic put a real dampener on making holiday plans, it seems Aussie workers are still not prioritising their leave. Older employees, such as Baby Boomers and Gen X, have larger balances (19.9 days and 20.3 days respectively) while their younger colleagues are sitting at 14.9 days (Millennials) and 8.8 (Gen Z) days.  

Of those employees (61%) expressing a barrier to going on leave, 21% said they were too busy at work, while 18% said they couldn’t afford to go away on holiday. 

Job security and the current economic climate is also contributing to employee mindsets, with 29% of surveyed workers anticipating redundancies in the next quarter and 38% feeling they need to work longer and harder to keep their jobs secure.

ELMO Software’s Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Lyons, shared his views on the research findings, expressing that employees and companies are losing out by not taking advantage of annual leave entitlements.

“Leave is not the first thing that comes to mind when you consider productivity in the workplace, however taking annual leave can be a powerful driver of individual performance. By taking planned time away from the demands of work, employees return feeling rested, energised and more engaged, which helps to improve focus and productivity,” Lyons explained. 

“Excess annual leave accrual is also a serious financial burden for businesses, with untaken leave recorded as a liability on the balance sheet, not to mention the staggering costs of leave loading.

“We’re seeing this across our customer base, with a total balance of annual leave hours sitting at over 13 million,” Lyons added.

Employees are feeling burnt out and managing increased workloads

The data also revealed 43% of employees are feeling burnt out and 43% report their workload has increased this quarter, driving home the importance of taking a well-earned break.

Gen Z employees are feeling the pressure more than their older colleagues, with half of respondents (52%) feeling burnt out as the end of year approaches. 

“The holiday season is the perfect time of year to encourage staff to take an extended break, maximising their leave with the additional public holidays,” Lyons said.

“The end of year is generally a quieter period in the business community across ANZ, giving our people an uninterrupted and well-earned break. With workers feeling burnt out dealing with increased workloads, taking a break to spend time with family and friends has never been more important. They can start the year feeling fresh and ready to hit the ground running.”

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About the ELMO Employee Sentiment Index 

The ELMO Employee Sentiment Index offers an insight into the actions, attitudes, concerns, and behaviours of Australian workers. The report provides a quarterly analysis of the prevailing sentiment within the workforce to track changes in perceived job security and the employment landscape. 

The research was commissioned by ELMO Software and conducted by Lonergan

Research in accordance with the ISO 20252 standard.

Lonergan Research surveyed 1,031 Australian workers aged 18 years and over between 26th September 2024 and 4th October 2024.

The research was conducted via a 16-question online survey. Respondents were members of a permission-based panel, geographically dispersed throughout Australia including both capital city and non-capital city areas.

After surveying, data was weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Additional sources

*Leave loading calculation based on ABS data – Average weekly earnings for FT adults in May 2024: $1,923.40. Leave loading calculation process.

About ELMO Software 

Founded in 2002, the ELMO Group comprises ELMO Software in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and Breathe HR in the UK. It is the trusted provider of HR technology solutions to 16,000+ small and mid-sized organisations and two million end users.

With a comprehensive suite of ISO-certified solutions that span the full employee lifecycle, ELMO Software is designed to scale as organisations grow. Flexible and configurable, ELMO’s one-stop HRIS fits to your specific needs and workflows.

Through powerful technology, automation, data and analytics, ELMO Software empowers HR professionals to play an integral role in company decision making.

For more information, please visit www.elmosoftware.co.nz.  or follow ELMO Software on LinkedIn.