Even With 20 Days of Annual Leave Left... Countless Office Workers Unable to Take Vacation Before Year-End, Why?

Saving on Clothing and Dining Out to Fund Travel Expenses

A significant number of Europeans have been unable to use up all of their remaining annual leave even as the end of the year approaches.

An office worker is checking their schedule while looking at a calendar. Pixabay

On November 13 (local time), Euronews reported that, according to a Mastercard survey of 20,000 people across 21 European countries, 47% of respondents said they still had at least 7 to as many as 20 days of annual leave left.

The most common reason for not taking annual leave was "lack of financial means" (23%). This response was most prevalent in Serbia (40%), Bulgaria (33%), Romania (32%), Croatia (27%), and Ireland (27%).

To cover the costs required for annual leave, these individuals have adjusted their budgets and reduced spending. They practiced saving in areas such as clothing (40%), dining out (39%), luxury goods (32%), electronics (32%), and home interior upgrades (25%). The outlet added that this aligns with research showing Europeans place more value on "experiences over possessions."

On the other hand, countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Cyprus were cited as being less affected by financial issues. Notably, in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, and Croatia, about 15% of respondents said the reason for not using their annual leave was that they were "waiting for better travel deals." However, at the same time, 12% of respondents said they had not yet finalized their Christmas plans due to work or family responsibilities.

When asked how they would like to use their leave, "visiting new travel destinations" was the most popular response at 40%. This was followed by attending performances (10%), outdoor activities (9%), and enjoying Christmas markets (9%).

A store selling Christmas items. This photo is not directly related to the content of the article. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

By age group, only 57% of Generation X respondents said they would achieve their "bucket list" within this year by using their annual leave. In contrast, 74% of Generation Z said they would actively utilize their annual leave. Among Millennials, who are between these two generations, 69% responded that they would use their annual leave to achieve their goals for the year.

Meanwhile, according to the "2025 Vacation Usage Trends for Office Workers" announced by integrated workforce management solution company Shiftee in August, December was the month with the highest annual leave usage. A total of 436,677 cases, accounting for 12.7% of all annual leave, were concentrated at the end of the year. This was followed by August, the peak of the summer vacation season, at 10.4% (357,402 cases).

In addition, according to a survey conducted in July by career platform JobPlanet, 3 out of 10 office workers were unable to take even 7 days of leave during the year. In the first half of this year, 3 out of 10 office workers used "7 days or less" of leave annually. Furthermore, when asked whether they could use annual leave without concern for others, 34.8% answered that they could use it freely, while 24.5% said "the company designates the dates."