Irish bosses favour more holidays for staff - but workers are unlikely to take them
Employers think that more days off would improve productivity.
A NEW SURVEY by recruitment firm CPL Resources has found that the vast majority of employers think five extra days of annual leave would increase staff productivity.
The company surveyed just over 270 employers last month as part of its quarterly employment market monitor and found that 95% of them believe more holidays would improve efficiency in their workforce.
However, separate research by CPL found that most bosses think the majority of their staff don’t use up their full holiday entitlements as it is.
A survey published by the same company this time last year found that 80% of employers believe workers don’t use up their annual leave and end up rolling some days over to the next holiday period.
This means “the onus is on employers to actively encourage their staff to take breaks if they want more productive, energised workers”, according to CPL.
The survey published today also found that about three in five employers think their staff are less productive when they work from home.
“Presenteeism appears to be an important criterion for measuring ‘productivity’, despite proof it is ineffective,” said CPL director Paddy Cosgrove.
“If employers want to hire and keep the best talent, they need to reconsider what they can offer (in terms of flexibility).”
Bump in job ads
CPL’s employment market survey indicated that there was a rise in the number of job opportunities advertised in Ireland during the first quarter of the year.
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During the quarter there were nearly 3,000 jobs posted in the four broad sectors monitored by CPL: IT and telecoms; science, engineering and supply chain; sales and marketing; and accountancy, HR, finance and banking.
The latter saw the biggest leap in the number of jobs posted to CPL’s website since the start of the year.
“The figures from early 2017 show strong growth in jobs posted in the key sectors listed,” said economist Ronan Lyons.
“This is driven in part by the financial services sector. As Brexit becomes a reality, it will be interesting to note if this trend continues.”
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