Communicators take less paid leave, new report shows
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For many communicators, the myth of a slow August is just that — a myth.
Why it matters: The work-life blur normalized by hybrid and remote work, paired with the always-on mentality, has made it nearly impossible for communicators to take time off, they say.
- Communicators are often chasing the news cycle — which didn't experience a summer slowdown either, due to Olympics coverage, ongoing wars and pending elections across the globe.
By the numbers: Muck Rack surveyed more than 600 PR pros from July 22 to Aug. 5 and found that on average, PR pros are only using about 72% of their full allotment of vacation days.
- The average number of vacation days given is 19 days per year, while the average number of days taken is just under 14, according to the report.
Zoom in: Even when communication professionals do take vacation, they do not truly unplug.
- Roughly 9 in 10 say they've been interrupted during paid time off at least once, and nearly half say it's happened more than three times this year.
What they're saying: Work-life balance must be modeled by those at the top, says Nick Propper, CEO of behavioral science and performance coaching firm Impact Human Performance.
- "If I'm the CEO of a communications business, and I'm telling [employees] to take vacation and be a bit more considerate about taking breaks, but then I don't do those things, or I continue to communicate while on vacation, then people will follow that behavior," he says. "It implies that the way to get ahead is to stay connected while away, because that's what senior leadership is doing."
- Any service that is selling time as its primary value to clients generally struggles to maintain work-life balance and implement proper recovery time, says Propper.
Between the lines: This is particularly true for public relations agencies and strategic communication firms that operate on billable hours, he says.
- "There's this sense that time is money, and if we're not working, we are not meeting our objectives in terms of our billable goal."
- "In a lot of these agency organizations, particularly in the middle ranking, you see the billable goal is like 100% — as in every single hour that you're at work, the expectation is you're working on something that can be billed for. This constant pressure to make up those billable hours is probably driving a lot of the out-of-hours work," he added.
What to watch: Easy access to work email, phone calls or Slack notifications is making it harder for employees to disconnect, prompting the introduction of "disconnect laws" across Europe, South America and Australia.
- In Australia, for example, employers can be fined up to $13,000 for contacting employees after-hours.
More on Axios: "Quiet vacationing" is the new holiday trend at work
