In a month filled with several major holidays including Kwanzaa, Hanukah, Christmas, and New Year's Eve, the halls of offices everywhere are not only decked, but very, very quiet. According to "December: Vacation-heavy Month Light on Attendance", a new survey conducted online by Harris Interactive(R) and sponsored by The Workforce Institute(TM) at Kronos(R) Incorporated, more than half of all full-time employees surveyed plan to take time off in December.
CHELMSFORD, Mass. (Business Wire EON) December 13, 2007 --
In a month filled with several major holidays including Kwanzaa,
Hanukah, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, the
halls of offices everywhere are not only decked, but very, very quiet.
According to “December: Vacation-heavy Month
Light on Attendance”, a new survey conducted
online by Harris Interactive®
and sponsored by The
Workforce Institute™ at Kronos®
Incorporated, more than half of all full-time employees surveyed
plan to take time off in December.
“Perhaps more than any other month, December
is recognized as one where many people take vacation and even while in
the office, are often times focused on non-work related events,”
said Joyce Maroney, director of the Workforce Institute. “From
holiday parties and ‘Yankee swaps’
to team lunches and dinners – the festivities
of the month definitely carry over into the workplace.”
Holiday greetings and no Monday meetings
This year in particular, with both Christmas Eve, Dec. 24 and New Year’s
Eve, Dec. 31, falling on Mondays, many of those who are employed
full-time are planning to make long weekends out of both. Sixty-three
percent of employed full-time survey respondents plan to take the day
off on Dec. 24, with 49 percent of these having the day off as a holiday
and the rest (14 percent) planning to take it off using paid or unpaid
leave. Slightly less — 53 percent —
are planning to take the day off on New Year’s
Eve day, with 36 percent of these having the day off as a holiday and
the rest (16 percent) taking the day off using paid or unpaid leave.
It's the busiest season of all
With such high levels of planned absenteeism, some employers have taken
to giving employees the week off between Christmas and New Year’s.
Eighteen percent of survey respondents work for employers who close
during the entire time between Christmas Day and New Year’s
Day.
Regardless of whether or not their places of work close down, 32 percent
of respondents said they typically take the entire time off between Dec.
25 and Jan. 1. The reasons for which those employed full-time typically
take time off during December are not surprising. The most frequent
reason cited is to spend time with family (52 percent), followed by
preparing for the holidays (31 percent), and shopping (21 percent).
No time for wasting
Among those whose employers offer paid time off, 27 percent are not
allowed to carry over any paid time off from one year to the next.
Twenty-five percent of respondents said they typically take time off in
December to use their allotted days off before year’s
end, a practice sometimes referred to as “Use
it or lose it.”
“For many organizations, difficulties arise
when there are large numbers of unplanned absences that occur,”
said Maroney. “Employers who don’t
allow employees to carry paid time off into the new year should expect
significant absences in December. They should look for ways to deal with
it earlier in the year — whether by bringing
on additional seasonal help, or encouraging employees to schedule time
off throughout the year.”
Calming the chaos
Among adults employed full-time, only 20 percent said they use an
automated system or software to submit time-off requests, meaning that
the vast majority are submitting their requests for time off in some
other way (e.g. verbally or in writing).
“It was surprising to see such a small
percentage of respondents use an automated system for time-off requests,”
said Maroney. “Automating this process can
help organizations to plan better, reducing human error and confusion
when it comes to scheduling absences and giving organizations a better
handle on what their absenteeism looks like —
not just in December — but over the course of
the whole year.”
Survey Methodology
This holiday work schedule survey was conducted online within the United
States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Kronos, Incorporated between
November 29 and December 3, 2007 among 2,949 U.S. adults aged 18 and
over among whom 972 were employed full-time. Results were weighted as
needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household
income. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for
respondents’ propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability
sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often
not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage
error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question
wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.
Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin
of error” as they are misleading. All that
can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different
probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response
rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close
to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have
agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been
weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population.
Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to
participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no
estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and one of the fastest-growing
market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative
research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more
confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements
in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll,
one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering
online market research methods. The company has built what it believes
to be the world’s largest panel of survey
respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients
worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and
through a global network of independent market research firms. More
information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.
To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to
participate in online surveys, register at www.harrispollonline.com.
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos Incorporated empowers organizations around the world to
effectively manage their workforce. At Kronos, we are experts who are
solely focused on delivering software and services that enable
organizations to reduce costs, increase productivity, improve employee
satisfaction, and ultimately enhance the level of service they provide.
Kronos serves customers in more than 60 countries through its network of
offices, subsidiaries, and distributors. Widely recognized as a market
and thought leader in managing the workforce, Kronos has unrivaled reach
with more than 30 million people using a Kronos solution every day.
Learn more about Kronos at www.kronos.com.
Note to Editors:
Cite survey findings as: “December:
Vacation-heavy Month Light on Attendance”
survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by The Workforce
Institute at Kronos Incorporated.
© 2007 Kronos Incorporated. Kronos
and the Kronos logo are registered trademarks and KronosWorks is a
trademark of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other product
and company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only
and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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