Indians refrain from taking leaves due to stereotypes attached to it

Most Indians shy away from taking leaves because they think it wouldn't please their bosses. There is a stereotype attached to asking for leaves despite most companies having fixed holidays, a new survey has found.

“On average, employed adults in India get 17 days paid holiday days per year. Despite that, 42 per cent are often concerned with the mounting load of the work while the other 26 per cent are unable to find the time to disengage from the official responsibilities. Close to 30 per cent are unable summon the courage to ask for leave, as a large share believe that two-week holidays are frowned upon or discouraged by their workplace,” British Airways said in a release.

The study was conducted with 2,006 Indian employees and it revealed that more than half of them had leftover holidays because they were too preoccupied with work.

A good 60 percent of respondents, who had taken leaves, said they weren't able to completely switch off from work even during their off days.

“Nearly 32 per cent attributed this to the short duration of the break, about 11 per cent said they dreaded the thought of returning to the grind and 59 per cent wished they had spent more time on vacation,” the survey further adds.

It is important to take leaves and vacations to avoid being overworked and overwhelmed, but in most cases people put off taking holidays saying they have a lot going on. Taking time off is essential for mental and physical well-being of an individual, with studies proving that people who take holidays have fewer stress-related physical complaints. Several of them also reported improved productivity.

"The productivity, creativity, bringing new ideas forward isn't the person who's working crazy hours," Katie Denis, VP and lead researcher at Project: Time Off, a research group funded by the U.S. Travel Association, was quoted as saying by CNBC. "It's someone who's getting outside of their day-to-day."

Multiple studies suggest taking vacations twice a year to improve productivity as well as overall health of the individual.