This is how much productivity the holidays cost you

The holidays may be over – but time spent away from work may be causing some employees to render extra hours as they return.

In a recent study by ADP Canada, more than three in five Canadians (64%) said they were planning to put in additional work hours in the post-holiday season to make up for time spent out of the office.

This signals a 10% drop from last year in the number of people doing overtime work. But the same people who will stay up late this year are also looking to increase their extra hours.

Working Canadians have the equivalent of about three full workdays (23 hours of work) to catch up on for a week of holidays.

Younger employees aged between 18 and 34, on the other hand, must work 32.1 hours in the pre- and post-holiday season to offset their time off.

Indeed, the time-off tax is “alive and well across Canada,” ADP Canada said.

“[It’s] concerning to see that for many, vacation time can be as much [of] a curse as it is a blessing,” said Hendrik Steenkamp, director of HR advisory at ADP Canada.

“Employees should not be penalized with late nights and early mornings for taking their earned vacation.”

For Steenkamp, managers need to ensure their teams are able to maximise their downtime, by “not only providing coverage for when they’re away, but [also] additional workload support before and after their holidays.”

In 2018, more than half (53.8%) of workers polled by ADP Canada received four weeks worth of vacation leave credits, but only 48.5% planned to use up their allotment.