NEWS
65% of Malaysian professionals do not take all their holiday allowance
10 October 2011

Kuala Lumpur | According to a recent survey of 260 professionals conducted by recruitment consultancy Robert Walters, 65 per cent of Malaysian professionals do not take all their holiday allowance. This is a relatively low figure judging by the fact that work-life balance has become such an important issue for working professionals in recent years.

Sally Raj, Country Manager, Robert Walters Malaysia, said:
“Most employees who have the option to encash their annual leave would rather have cash on hand than to take all of their annual leave. However, not many companies provide that flexi-benefit. Work still comes first for many Malaysians but having said that, there is a difference between the baby-boomers and Gen-Y employees. Younger employees would be more willing to take leave to travel on a regular/ad-hoc basis versus the baby-boomers who tend to plan leave in advance with fewer trips in a year.”

The survey also shows that 35 per cent of the respondents took between 50 and 75 per cent while 31 per cent took between zero and 25 per cent of their holiday allowance.

Globally, the countries with the highest percentage of professionals taking all their holiday allowance are Thailand (57 per cent), Germany (56 per cent), Ireland (56 per cent), New Zealand (54 per cent) and UK (54 per cent).

Source : Robert Walters