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26th August 2024
05:32pm BST
If you've yet to use your annual leave this year then you may be at risk of burnout.
A recent study has discovered that one in five people failed to use all of their annual leave.
20% of them wasted five or more annual leave days by the end of the year, which is equal to an entire week of work.
16% of people were left with four days and 19% had three days unused.
Another 9% were left with two annual leave days and 3% were left with one unused day.
Failing to take annual leave can lead to extreme burnout because you're not giving yourself time to rest.
Those who have burnout will suffer from physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. Those who are suffering from it will often struggle to engage in their day-to-day activities and will lose interest in stuff they once cared about.
You will also find yourself losing interest in socialising and may step back from your social circles.
One of the main emotions those with burnout will feel is a sense of hopelessness, but they’ll also struggle with physical symptoms.
Those may have headaches, stomach pain, fatigue, frequent illness, and changes in their appetite, as well as their sleep.
FRS Recruitment General Manager Lynne McCormack told Newstalk that annual leave is essential for all workers.
"We talk to hundreds of employers and candidates every day and it's arguably one of the main points after salary as part of negotiation for a role.
"There are possibly two main reasons [for not taking holidays] - firstly workload, some people feel they're unable to step away for long periods of time.
"If people aren't taking their holidays, you run the risk of burnout," she warned.
