Dutch workers leave vacation days unused, study finds

A new study reveals that Dutch employees receive an average of 27.5 vacation days per year, but 43.5 percent of workers do not use their full allocation. On average, 1.8 days are carried over into the following year, while 3.7 percent of workers roll over more than 10 unused days annually.

The findings come from research conducted by Loket.nl and MKB Servicedesk, which analyzed over 1.2 million anonymized payroll records from 145,000 companies in the Netherlands. The report highlights notable differences in vacation use between industries and generations.

Employees in the metalworking sector enjoy significantly more vacation time, with 2.5 extra days compared to the national average. Similarly, workers in the chemical industry receive 1.5 additional days.

However, employees in the construction sector report the lowest vacation totals, with 3.6 fewer days than the average. Workers in publishing also see a deficit, with nearly 12.5 hours less vacation than the typical Dutch worker.

The study also found significant differences in the number of unused vacation days across sectors. Construction workers tend to leave only one vacation day unused per year, while employees in the meat processing industry, such as butchers, carry over an average of 2.7 days.

"High workloads or a lack of awareness may lead employees to forgo vacation days," said Jade Karthaus from MKB Servicedesk. "It's a missed opportunity, as time off is essential for employee well-being and productivity. Employers should encourage workers to use their vacation days by providing clear insights and promoting time off."

Generational differences also play a role in vacation trends. Baby Boomers lead the pack, enjoying an average of 29.9 vacation days annually, which is over three days more than Gen Z, who receive the least with 26.6 days. Millennials and Gen X fall in between, with 26.7 and 27.6 days, respectively.

Boomers also tend to leave more vacation days unused, with an average of 2.3 days carried over. In contrast, younger generations like Gen Z and Millennials carry over only 1.6 to 1.8 days on average.

"The disparity can be attributed to older generations often benefiting from more favorable employment terms, such as extra seniority-based vacation days," Karthaus explained.

The analysis was based on anonymized payroll data from more than 1.2 million records across 145,000 Dutch businesses. Vacation totals were standardized to a 40-hour full-time workweek. Public sector workers were excluded from the study due to insufficient representative data.