53% Indians feel paid vacation time given to them not fair

When it comes to paid holidays, most Indians feel that the amount of vacation time given in the country is "not fair" compared to what is usually given globally, according to a recent survey.

"About 53% of the Indian respondents do not feel the amount of paid vacation time given in India is fair compared to what the rest of the world receives," according to a survey 'Working on Vacation Survey' by TripAdvisor.

The report surveyed more than 17,000 employed respondents across 11 countries, including 1,100 in India. The other 10 countries include US, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain and the UK.

Both Indian and the US respondents felt they would like an additional four days of vacation, considering 22 days of paid vacation to be fair and reasonable. Most Indians get 18 days paid vacations and they consider 22 days fair, it said adding that it is lower among the countries surveyed. 

Brazilians and Russians want the most vacations at 33 days per year.

Among the countries polled, France gets the most average paid vacation days annually (31 days), followed by Russia (29 days). The report further reveals that 47% of Indians do not mind doing a little work on vacation, while 46% would prefer to be totally disconnected, and seven% enjoy being connected to work while on vacation.

"While mostly no one enjoys having to work while on a vacation, today's hyper competitive and demanding work cultures preclude the fact that almost 50% of Indians ended up attending to work while on vacation last year.

"While employees from a few other countries like the US and Australia are ahead of Indians on this not-so-desirable indicator, clearly this is not a great trend from the point of view of advocates of a happy work-life balance," TripAdvisor India Country Manager Nikhil Ganju said.

Across countries surveyed, the top reason the respondents cited for working on vacations is that there might be urgent situations that need attention.

Nearly 71% of Indian respondents polled said they worked on vacations to attend to urgent situations, it pointed out.

The survey found that only 11% Indian respondents most likely to report feeling guilty if they don't work on vacation compared to 18% in US followed 14% in the UK.